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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

924 084 657 41

Cornell University

Library

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1998

CORNELLUNIVERSITYLIBRARY

THE

CHARLES WILLIAM WASONCOLLECTION ON CHINA

AND THE CHINESE

Wot>Mu.ryfy-^^

V/..

i/pl^f't^ Af^/^r A-^V^

SroTn. a. photpyracph Iry ^Marshall Wane, £diniurqh.

TO SIAM AND MALAYA

THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND'S YACHT

'SAKS PEUR'

BY

MRS. FLORENCE CADDYAUTHOE OF ~

' THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LIKN^US,'

ETC., ETC.

IN ONE VOLUME.

LONDON:HURST AND BLACKETT, LIMITED,

13, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

1889.

All rights reserved.

PREFACE.

A WOKD may be said here as to the origin of this

book. The Duke of Sutherland, after a severe ill-

ness, had been exiled by his physicians and ordered

to winter abroad. ' He had been well-nigh every-

where else, and in this case decided to proceed to

the far East in his yacht, touching at various

places of . interest, and finally to visit Siarn. Ageographer and naturalist was required for the ex-

pedition, which, as it was to touch fresh woods and

pastures new, was a position likely to afford some-

thing worthy of record. The position was offered

to me, and I accepted it, We went overland to

Brindisi, and found the Sans Peur lying there. I

found all the novelty and adventure that I had ex-

pected, and the results are recorded in the following

pages.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTEE I.

Lessepsia 1

The Sans Peur, her Company and Armament—Candia—Port Said

—Lady Strangford's Hospital—The Wild-cat Flag—The Suez Canal

—Drive through Ismailia—Fishing in Lake Temsah—Steamer

aground in the Canal—The Bitter Lake—Donkey-riding at Suez.

CHAPTER II.

The Red Sea 27

The Wilderness—^Mount Horeb—Hesperus —Christmas Day—Mas-

sowah—Mr. Portal—Drive to General Gend's Camp—The Hababs

—

The Knight of the Locket—Italian Military Railway—Camp at

MonkvLUo—Captain Michelini— Bivouac in the Camp—Ordered to

the Front.

CHAPTER HI.

To THE Far East 57

Aden—Across the Indian Ocean—Portuguese at Marmagoa—The

new Railway-line to Bellary—Southern Ghauts—^The Sea-Serpent

—

Ceylon—Madras—Journey across India—Festival of the total

Eclipse of the Moon—Shipwrecked Sailors—Transformation Scene

— Straits of Malacca—Singapore—Tropical Vegetation—Jinrickshas

—Ball on board H.M.S. Orion—Luncheon at Government House—^Tea

at a Chinaman's House.

viii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

A Royal Cremation .... .86Gulf of Siam—The Menam River—The Venice of the East

—^The

Palace of Calm Delights—Preparing for the Cremation—Procession

of the Urns of former Kings—Fire-brigade—Great Fire at Bangkok

—The Royal Gardens—Classical Temples—Streets of Bangkok

—

State Dinner-party at the Royal Palace—The King and Queen of

Siam.

CHAPTER V.

High Life in Asia 118

Procession of the bodies of the Princes—Coinage of Siam—Siamese

boys educated in England—Temple at Sabratummawan—Image of

Buddha—Illuminations in the Premane—Our Reception by the

King—Graceful National Customs—The King's Children—Presents

—Shrines at the Premane—Noises of the Night—The White Ele-

phants—Museum at Bangkok—Siamese Soldiers—Future Siamese

Railways—The Emerald and Crystal Buddhas—Playing at Ball.

CHAPTER VI.

Young Siam 150

Native Art—Police Boat—Prisons—Vessels in the River—Flotilla

Company—Habits of the People—Gambling-houses—House-boats

—

The Cremation Ceremonies—Festivities—High Jinks—Scrambling

for Limes and Balls—Fireworks—Lamp and Dragon -dances.

CHAPTER Vn.

Atuthia 168

Absolute Monarchy—Up the River—Palm and Bamboo—^The

White Ibis—Palace of Bang Pahin—^Tokay Lizard—^Rice Cultiva-

tion—Arrival of the Golden Needle—Inundation of the Menam

—

Family Temples—Poll-tax—Ayuthia—Observatory—Picnic in a

Mango-orchard—Sight-seeing—Elephant-taming—Siamese Sunday

—Prince Doctor's Opinions.

CONTENTS. ix

CHAPTER VIII.

Thirty Years' Progress in Siam . . . 194

Gold-mines and Prospecting—Lawn-tennis Party—Arabian Nights

in the Premane—Shopping Excursion in a Gondola—Siamese Musical

Instruments—Dinner-party of highly-civilized People—Wat Poh

—

The Colossal Buddha—Mother-of-pearl Marqueterie—Wat Chang

—

Wat Sahket—Rival Bauds—Diseases in Siam—Future of Siam

—

Farewell to Bangkok.

CHAPTER IX.

Return to the Nineteenth Century . .217

Snakes of Siam and Poisonous Fish—Short Cut in the River

—

Islands in the Gulf of Siam—Prime Minister of the Sultan of Johore

—Naval Manoeuvres at Singapore and Sham Fight—Cathedral and

Prison at Singapore.

CHAPTER X.

The Sultan op Johore 231

Johore Flag—^The Istana—Chinese Opera—Four-in-hand Drive

—Wines—'A Dream of Fair Women '—Malay Curry—Brick and

Tile Works—Chinese Theatre and Gambling-house—Malacca Canes

and Sarongs—^Malay Garden-party—Cultivation of Crops—Steam

Saw-miUs—Johore Forests—^River Police—The Bag-piper—Farewell

Dinner-party.

CHAPTER XI.

Muar 261

The Duke Invested with the Order of Johore—The Sultan's Yacht

—Journey through the Salat Tambran—Mount Ophir—The Sultan's

Nephews—Istana at Muar—A Malay Breakfast—Present of a Tiger

—The Capitan China—Fishing Villages—Mr. Swan's Adventures

—

Coronation of the Sultan—Mount Ophir of Sumatra.

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XII.

Ceylon 280

Coloured Fish—Juggler and Jeweller—Colombo—Railway Jour-

ney—Ceylon Tea—Peradeniya—The Earthly Paradise—Bamboos

—

Palms—Figs—The Upas-tree—Kandy—Temple of the Tooth

—

Library—Cobras—Native Agriculture—^Buddhist Priests—Excur-

sion to Galangoda—Jewelled Dagoba—Wall Paintings—Red Colos-

sal Buddha—Smaller Temples—'Sensation' Rock—Philology—'A

Floating Palace of Delight

'

CHAPTER XIII.

The Return Voyage 320

Laccadive Islands—Easter Day—Southern Cross—African Coast

—Arab Town at Aden—Queen of Sheba's Tanks—Stay at Govern-

ment House—Persian Carpets—A Ball—Description of Aden—Pro-

ductions and Fauna of Aden—Sharp-nosed Dolphins—Squalls near

Suez—Railway Trip to Cairo.

CHAPTER XIV.

Egypt 337

English Troops at the Citadel—Ostrich-farming—^Iiluseum of

Antiquities—Twirling and Howling Dervishes—^The Races—^The

Libyan Lake—RaU to Alexandria—^P. and O. ship Gwalior—^Mr.

Cornish's Pump-works—Sights of Alexandria—^Feast of Roses.

TO SIAM AND MALAYA.

CHAPTER I.

LESSEPSIA.

And mind you tell them a very pretty story, for they are exceedingly

fond of stories ; my mother likes them to be very moral and aristocratic,

and my father likes them to be merry, so as to make him laugh.

The Flying Trunk. Hans Andersen.

A YACHT is something like the magic carpet of the

Arabian Nights, that can transport its owner where

he wishes, or, better still, like Hans Andersen's' Flying Trunk,' for you pack up and get into it, and

it carries you where you wish. It takes its time

about it, perhaps.

David Copperfield's old lady wondered at the

impiety of mariners and others who had the pre-

sumption to go ' meandering ' about the world ; for

those who do not agree with her, and who have

yachts, a yacht is the ideal vehicle for meandering.

Life in a large yacht combines the picturesqueness

of seafaring with the comforts of the best passen-

ger ships. Preamble over, the Duke shakes hands

with his officers all round and makes a pleasant

speech to the crew. The bagpipes play up during

B

2 LESSEPSIA.

dessert to welcome his Grace on board ; the crescendo

and diminuendo tones have a pretty effect as Aleck

walks up and down playing the handsome silver-

mounted pipes, their dark blue and green tartan

ribbons fluttering in the breeze.

It feels homely to me knowing my way about the

vessel, to have the same cabin that I had in the Bal-

tic, and to see so many faces that I know. Aleck, the

piper, says they are all glad to see me. We are thirty-

two souls on board : the Duke and the doctor. Lady

Clare, a widowed relative of the Duke's family, and

myself; Bertha, the Swiss maid, and three stewards;

the captain and first and second mate ; engineers and

their crew, five; carpenter, boatswain, and officers'

steward, three ; the Italian chef-de-cuisine and his

assistants—his myrmidons, as the head-steward calls

the marmitons—and the officers' cook, six; and

eight seamen. The Duke prefers using the fore-part

of the yacht as cleaner and pleasanter, and command-ing the best view; the after-end, being left for the

ship's company, gives them commodious quarters.

The Sans Peur carries, besides the gig built as alifeboat, a steam-launch, a cutter, the second gig,

and dinghy, a Norwegian cockle-shell called the

ladies' boat, and a Berthon collapsible.

The saloon looked delightfully comfortable, as wearrived by starlight, with a fire and the table laid

for dinner, the lamps with their coloured shades,

the book-case attractive with the newest books, andplates and pictures set in the olive plush walls abovethe dado of carved teak. An ' jEolian ' pianoforte

stands in one corner of the saloon.

LESSEPSIA. 8

The deck-house is lined with sofas ; it has doors on

each side and windows nearly all round, so that one

can see the views while sitting at work or with a

book. .Above the wide, easy staircase that leads

down to the saloon a folding table is spread, large

enough to dine eight people, or a dozen at a pinch;

the servants stand at the head of the staircase to

wait, and the table does not impede their use of this

short cut to the pantry, while the dishes are brought

hot from the galley to the doors. In fine weather

we take our meals in the deck-house in preference to

the saloon..

The 13th of December was a fine mild morning.

We were all busy unpacking before noon, the hour

fixed for sailing. We had our things laid neatly in

the numerous cabin drawers, etc., and our trunks

Avere carried below to the hold.

What changes in the deck-house ! It looks more

business-like now than it did in its summer bowery

appearance, when every corner was filled with plants

and the beams hung with alternate rows of bunches

of green and purple grapes from Trentham. Nowthere are three shining revolvers at the head of each

sofa, and below the coloured glass frieze above the

windows is another frieze of nine Winchester rifles

which fire fifteen charges each without reloading,

and a magazine of ammunition in a cupboard handy

by with the atlases. All this, with the brass can- '

nons on the deck, is for defence against possible

pirates in the China seas.

Ofi", with a fair wind, going eleven-and-a-half

knots an hour, Italy on the west and the line . of

B 2

i LESSEPSIA.

the Albanian hills all snowy to the eastward of us.

Thermometer 60" at six p.m. We have not found

our sea-legs, and the chairs are all lashed to the

tables. Our burly ' bos'un ' lays the weight of his

body as well as the strength of his arms to the ropes.

The Duke laughingly recommends ' this nice little

treatise on the rolling of ships,' by W. Froude,

written almost exclusively in algebra. Then his

Grace, the better to entertain us, calls the captain

with his charts and compasses into the deck-house

to discuss plans, and we listen, like the Miss Flam-

boroughs, each holding an orange while they talk

about monsoons, etc.

Here I should be^n a fresh chapter on ' OurPrivations,' a short one like that famous chapter on

the snakes in Ireland. We have no privations on

board the Sans Peur. Indeed, we carry two addi-

tional seamen in case of sickness among them in

the tropics. Calmer next morning, as we are shel-

tered by Cephalonia and Zante, ' fior di Levante'

on the port-side. We have fragrant mandarin

oranges, with their leaves and flowers to hold and

smell, the newest books and magazines to read, and

the white cliffs of Zante to gaze upon. The Morea

comes into view in the afternoon as we lose sight of

Zante. There is a little flat islet near, and beyond

it are the Peloponnesian mountains. The islet sub-

divides, and behold the Strophades—the storm-vext

Strophades, 'haunts of Celseno and her Harpybrood,' which all pictures and descriptions represent

as beetling crags and frowning precipices. They

are not terrible in reality, nor at all like the pic-

LESSEPSIA. 6

tures, though mariners would probably avoid themin bad weather. This is an illusion lost ; never mind,

I seek truth, mightier than any fiction.

The sea became much less rough as we cameunder the lee of lofty rugged Crete, with its grey

barren rocks, touches of red on its cliffs, and snow-

capped summits, reminding us of the Alps, towering

above the belts of cloud. A whale is blowing upfountains in the nearer sea, a grand whale, a great

beast.

The Duke, turning over pages of the ' Light of

Asia,' and quoting the millions of Buddhists, says,

' It is the biggest religion going, by a long way,'

and he is soon deeply wrapped in Buddha's capti-

vating story.

The doctor swallows novels by the dozen, bolting

them like pills.

At sunset a heavenly violet glow suffuses a near pro-

montory of Candia, with its snow-crowned peaks all

rosy, and blue mists at the base, bringing all manner

of fanciful images to lose themselves among the

shadows ofthe cliffs, until to our fancy the lofty island

becomes a ghost, its head wrapped in white drapery

of snowy peaks, its jagged stony base and rocky pro-

montory hard in outline and picturesque in detail

;

clouds, like fancies, are spreading their wings over

the mysterious blue wall that we know, by faith, to

be all flowery valleys and shadowy ravines, with

possibly cornfields and vineyards. Now its aspect

has become ashy pale, like that of after-death, the

craggy foreground is a skeleton, the snowy crest has

a greenish hue, quite livid. Moonlight will be a

6 LESSEPSIA.

glory to it, or as fame to a dead poet. The sea is

purple ' wine-coloured.' Candia has been a beau-

tiful companion to us all day, besides being a pro-

tection and a shelter. At five o'clock there is a

revival on the mountain ; it is less corpse-like, more

like a sculptured marble monument, warm from the

sculptor's touch, softened and tender, like a fond

memory of itself.

Now alone in the Mediterranean, equi-distant

from Europe, Africa, and Asia, as measured by the

captain's compasses, the. Sans Peur rolls on to our

chosen destiny. One passing steamer is all the

vesselry we have seen since leaving Brindisi. Nofear of collisions, any way. The grey solitude is

gloomy. The Duke is somewhat hoarse, or worse,

to our dismay, but he passes it off lightly.

'What matter,' says his Grace, ' I am not going

to sing.'

The stewards Herries and Dark Charlie are bring-

ing up more warlike implements, 'in case the savages

come.' There are six boarding-pikes in a stand at

the foot of the staircase leading from the deck-house

to the saloon.

' In case those heathens think there is anything

worth taking in a vessel of this sort, we'll give them

a warm reception,' quoth the valiant Herries ; and he

shows us the varieties of pistols, some so excellent

' that they will do their work loaded or unloaded,

like the Irish magistrates.'

This impresses me ; I feel safer now.

Besides the deadly weapons before mentioned,

there are several sorts of revolvers in cases 'for

LESSEPHIA. 7

occasional use !' the Duke's own firearms, the doc-

tor's guns, the steward's rifle, and sundry and various

warlike tools below.

Will the smell of black leather ever afterwards

remind me of these pistol-cases? I read Sir J.

Lubbock's book on ' The Pleasures of Life.' It

seemed appropriate, and 1 longed for the time whenI should begin to make my observations on newcountries ; like Glauber, I daresay I shall examinewhat everyone else has thrown away. Travelling

in this way, one sees just the crust of a country, or

the cream of a country, whichever way you like to

take it. The result is pleasure, but much depends

on the people you travel with. The Duke is most

pleasant, a truly kindly nature, one forgets he is a

Duke. ' Kind hearts are more than coronets, and—

' so

forth. We watched the porpoises, some half-a-dozen

of them, swimming at the bows of the yacht as if

racing us, and now and then leaping out of the

water in pairs ; we also saw flying-fish skimming the

sea like swallows ; they are not frequently seen in

the Mediterranean. The lofty tower of Damietta peeps

up in this forenoon of the 17th, and Port Said comes

in sight at two p.m. Lappy is eager to go ashore.

This is the Duke's large Lapland dog ; he bought

him in Stockholm last summer.

The view is of along breakwater of concrete blocks,

with a skinny Arab in blue leaping about on it, and

much shipping in the canal, the silver link between

the blue sea and the Red Sea. The yacht has to pay

over two hundred pounds toU for passing through

the canal; even Monsieur de Lesseps' friends are not

8 LESSEPSIA.

exempt from toll. The Royal Yacht Club, however,

enjoys the same privileges as the Royal Navy ; and

their vessels do not pay harbour dues.

We anchored near the English barracks, a build-

ing we bought from some Dutch people in the late

war. Its commanding situation on a tongue of land

will make it useful in any future event. Port Said

is a busy and important place, full of all sorts and

conditions of buildings, from gunboats to dredges,

tents, tanks, shore erections, machinery, and poor

Lady Strangford's hospital stranded on the sands and

going to pieces for want of funds. There is no moneyto pay the nurses, and, althougb the Sister works

for love and the doctors attend gratis, the building,

which is roofed with a patent preparation of paper,

is not watertight. This kind of roofing has failed here,

though a dry climate, the sun being probably too

powerful for the fabric, and the wet—for it does rain

here sometimes—comes in on the patients' beds. It

is a pity that this useful institution should be let

drop, as many Englishmen coming home sick recover

under the care of the English nurses, whereas theywould be sure to die if taken to the Egyptian hos-

pitals. Poor Lady Strangford was on her way outwith an architect to see to the roofing, when she died

suddenly, otherwise her energy would have carried

out her plans and collected funds to work them, for

which there is now no available capital left, and it

causes regret that her effort should have been alto-

gether in vain.

Boats with picturesque crews are flocking roundus ; they have to give place to an English man-of-

LESSEPSIA. 9

war's boat bringing a young officer, with side-arms,

from the Albacore gunboat to make his bow to the

Duke. All officialdom is coming off, health and canal

officers, another and another boat hooking on to us,

ten boat-loads of officials. Our yellow-haired captain

is distracted, but determined not to let them board

his ship. Make way for the British flag. The man-

of-war's boat elbows its way in, the commander of

the Albacore bows himself off, non-official boats crowd

the port-side of the Sans Peur. The head-steward,

an experienced officer formerly of the P. and 0. ser-

vice, has an eye on these. More boats hurrying to

the fray for trading purposes. We try to land to

get out of the hubbub. Monsieur de Lesseps' steam-

launch follows us as we land from the dinghy.

M. le Due is offered the use of the Maison Adminis-

trative for himself and his party, and steam-launches

and whatsoever his Grace desires. Thousand thanks.

We have everything we want, but million thanks.

' II n'y a pas de quoi, etc. Mille etceteras.' Compli-

ments bandied.

Then we land, shouted at admiringly (?) by a

tribe of Arab children, dwellers in gipsy tents hard

by, and walk through the dirty suburbs, all smelling

of Africa, and see our first camel, and grow raptur-

ous over sugar-cane and palm-trees. Port Said has

become a ragged Oriental town—it might be of any

age—not like the new wooden Yankee-looking place

I remember. All the various national flags give it

what Pierre Loti calls ' un air de Babel en fete.'

We returned to the yacht and sat on the bridge till

after gunfire enjoying the regular Egyptian sunset.

10 LESSEPSIA.

amber flushed with red, like ' a golden vase filled with

roses,' being devoured by mosquitoes, while listening

to the sweet birds' songs and sounds of all mannerof machinery and fanfaronades and cries and talk

in all manner of languages, including pigeon English

from a heathen Chinee. We hear we are to leave at

daylight to-morrow, as the pilot has orders from Mon-

sieur de Lesseps to take the Sans Peur through the

canal at more than regulation speed, only we must

get on before another vessel that will be going at

the regulation speed. Weighed anchor at six. Weare the first in the canal to-day. Being Sunday,

they have hoisted the Duke's private flag, with the

wild-cat rampant, which looks like pussy taking her

first dancing-lesson, at the mizen, the yacht's burgee

at the main-mast. The Duke told us the story of

the wild-cat on his flag. When the Danes in old

times came invading Sutherland, the wild-cats from

the mountains came doAvn and helped the braver

Scots to drive them ofi", while the other inhabitants

took refuge in their Pictish towers.

Lake Menzaleh extends on the starboard horizon,

covered with lateen-rigged vessels; the shore crowdedwith quail and innumerable flamingoes, looking like

white towns, or encampments, in their distant flocks.

On the port-side there is the appearance of a great

lake beyond the strip of sand, with sand hillocks

reflected in its waters ; but no, it is a mirage—at

least, so declares the pilot, who ought to know.The map seems to show water on both sides, but the

pilot and the captain declare it is wrong. By-and-

by the silvery line of our course is well-defined

LESSEPSIA. 11

between two infinities of mirage and desert sand.

'Murray' says it is a wide expanse of lake and

morass rendered gay and brilliant with innumerable

flocks of rosy pelicans, scarlet flamingoes, and snow-

white spoonbills. All this, and my own eyes, I

prefer to believe, pilots and captains notwithstand-

ing. It is the metropolis of wild fowl, geese, ducks,

herons, and other birds. Kantarah (El Kantara,

the bridge) we see at 11.10 a.m., a meeting-place of

caravans of pilgrims from Mecca and Jerusalem.' There's a busy scene,' says the Duke, and so it

is ; no pilgrims, however, but strings of camels and

navvies in blue gowns and white turbans, all busy

at work repairing the steep banks of the canal,

especially busy a figure in blue calling 'baksheesh,'

whenever he can catch anyone's eye except that

of the Egyptian ganger in black holding his parasol

over his head. The captain showed us the pith hats

bought at Port Said for himself and the ship's com-

pany. We all fished out our helmets ; the Duke's is

a heavy white military helmet, ours are grey and

very unbecoming. We postpone wearing them for

the present, though the sun is scorching on the light

sand which makes the canal muddy-looking.

Our pilot, in his extra care, manoeuvred us

aground, and before we got ofi" the Asia, of the

Anchor line, took that opportunity to pass us. The

banks are in many places defended by camp-shed-

ding, and tamarisks are dotted sparsely on the banks,

which rise higher as we approach Ismailia, where

they are sometimes wattled, and binding plants are

encouraged, reeds, tamarisks, and a sort of willow.

12 LESSEPSIA.

Many Arabs and camels are employed upon the

banks. They are not going to widen the canal, but

to increase its depth at the borders, making it

thirt}'^ feet deep throughout. Our passage washes the

banks a good deal, as we are going at nearly double

the regulation speed, seven and a half to eight knots

an hour. The pilot pats our skipper complacently

on the back, saying, ' We did it cleverly that time,

dear boy.' The captain resents it. He has never

had his vessel run aground before—and get into the

papers—all through an ignorant, incompetent son

of a something—I forget what he said—and he does

not like it.

At three p.m. we see Viceroy Said's old house

above us on the right, a mere chalet with an iron

verandah, and before us the lakes are opening out.

The khedivial avenue from the chdlet to Ismailia

has not flourished, but foliage generally is abundant

round Ismailia. There are heavy clouds overhead. TheDuke tells me ' the evaporation is so great from the

Bitter Lakes that there is always a strong current

in from the Red Sea caused by nothing but the

evaporation.' His Grace is an authority on this

canal, having been here so often during and since

its construction. He has visited the Panama Canal

with Monsieur de Lesseps as well. There are several

house-boats here, and seven ' mudhoppers ' for carry-

ing oif the mud.

We anchored at Ismailia at 3.30, opposite the

Khedive's palace, a handsome stone house half-

hidden in the fileo woods. The place smells strongly

of the sea. Monsieur Thevenet, Chef du Service du

LESSEPSIA. 13

Domaine et des Eaux de la Compagnie du Canal de

Suez, a catalogue of a title, came off by order of Mon-sieur de Lesseps witli the count's private steam-launch

to take us ashore, and he had an open carriage with

pretty Arab horses ready at the pier to take us

driving round to see everything of interest. First

through the avenue of large caroub-trees, by side of

which the young palm-groves are planted, and the

fileo woods. I did not know this tree ; it is a sort

of casuarina, with long beard-like fronds and a

feathery sort of flower. It is an Australian tree.

I was amazed at the growth of the woods in what

I remembered as a sandy desert with a few slips of

fruit-trees stuck in it, trying to grow.

There are now three thousand inhabitants in

Ismailia; sixteen thousand at Port Said. We drove

to the end of the Sweet-water Canal, and thence

through the long, but here less flourishing, caroub

avenue to the chalet we had seen from below, the

viUa of Said Pasha, in whose reign the canal was

projected. Monsieur de Lesseps brought him up here

to this highest ground in the neighbourhood, whence

you can see Jebel Ataka, which overhangs Suez,

blue in the distance. Monsieur de Lesseps said that

some day he would see large vessels float where there

was then only desert. The pasha replied, ' I will

show my confidence in you by building a house here

at this spot, where I shall behold it ;' and this red

and buff striped chalet was erected. Said died before

the fulfilment of the prophecy.

Said's villa has fallen out of repair, but it is still

sometimes used as an annexe to a convalescent hos-

U LESSEPSIA.

pital built near it. Ismailia is much fever-haunted,

owing, it is said, to the constant watering of the

vegetation. In its early days it seemed made to be

the sanatorium of Egypt, with its exhilarating desert

breezes. Monsieur Thevenet looked fever-worn and

delicate. His children live in France, and he goes

home for three months at least every third year. Mr.

Roberts of Suez likewise calls Ismailia a feverish

place ; he says six out of seven pilots have been laid

up in hospital at Ismailia at a time.

The fashionable world of Ismailia was out walking

or driving on this road, which looks over the lake

and the branches of the canal. On returning wepassed the Khedive's palace, now seldom occupied,

which was constructed for the ceremony of opening

the canal, when whole groves and gardens were

brought here full-grown from Cairo, only, of course,

to die. The road was then made to the chdlet, as

Ismail expected to have to lodge some of his guests

there. The fetes and all connected therewith cost

twelve millions offrancs. Monsieur de Lesseps regret-

ted this, though it was his triumph ; but Ismail was a

big baby in his hands to be coaxed and humoured.

It was an advertisement, certainly, but .this kind of

work needed none.

Monsieur de Lesseps, senior, has not been here for

four years. His sons come here occasionally.

We passed the now disused Canal de Service,

which leads to the quarries where the stone—a bad

sort—was dug for use in the constructions. Theylet in water here at an early period of the works, as

of course there was no water-way, and everything

LESSEPSIA. 15

had to be brouglit here by camels. In the process of

filling the lakes an accident occurred which might

have had disastrous consequences, but which, in

fact, only expedited the filling. A breakage occurred

on the first rush of water from the Red Sea, Avhich

threatened to carry away much of the banks, and

flood the whole basin into a mere lagoon, useless for

navigation. Fortunately, the injury to the banks

was comparatively slight, and the central water-way

was retained.

We passed a ' square,' or public garden, shady

and pleasant, with alleys and a large white flower-

ing exotic tree in the centre, and still went on

through groves and gardens, and the Greek town

shaded with plants of eucalyptus, poinsettia, and

others, to Monsieur Thevenet's house. There he

showed us the machinery of the waterworks, the

sweet-water force-pumps, &c. If these stopped.

Port Said would starve. We admired his gardens,

where he gathered tea-roses for us, and pepper and

hibiscus, to show us what they can grow here in

the desert even so near Christmas, the yellowing

poplars affording, according to Monsieur Thevenet,

the only signs of a. difference in the seasons. Heshowed us a Pharaoh's rat, a wild animal that they

have lately caught in the desert, a creature some-

thing like a large mongoose, with a long thin tail,

very shy and fierce, and, like most desert animals,

of the colour of the sands, or the sands where they

are shaded by hillocks and the shrubs that are the

camels' food.

There were ipomeas and a large bougainvillea,

16 LESSEPSIA.

-with its beautiful purple-clustered sprays forming a

long arbour walk, made all of one spreading plant

with quite a timber stem of wonderful size, consider-

ing the newness of the planting of Ismailia, as well

as jasmines and roses, vines and vegetables, showing

how readily the desert can be made to blossom as

the rose, and many sorts of what Monsieur Thevenet

called ' multipliants,' whose drooping branches take

root and spread.

We drove on past the railway-station and the

little church, through the Arab town, mth its pic-

turesque and busy population, its shops, and stalls

and large flat baskets of various cereals, mostly ex-

posed on the ground, to a small enclosure, where

are preserved the sphynxes and other relics which

were dug up at Rameses in cutting the sweet-water

canal. One sphynx of blue granite is fairly well

preserved ; and still better is a group of three seated

figures in pink syenite, two of them holding in the

clenched left hand theTau. Q The central figure

wears a dififerent hat to t>J<l the broad cushiony

Parsee-like caps of the A other two. There

are bathing-machines on the border of Lake Temsah,

by the sandy shore on the same side as the Arab town.

People come here from Cairo for the sea-bathing.

We were offered the use of the electric-light boat

to go to Suez in, letting the yacht follow by day-

light ; but, as there was no good sleeping accommoda-tion on board, we gave up seeing the weird effect

of the canal by electric light, and elected to see the

desert scenery by day. The sunset was a glorious

effect of flame-colour, with a rich violet glow above.

LESSEPSIA. 17

where the crescent moon glittered like the national

flag. They say there is not much variation of the

seasons here, but we were all glad of our wraps in the

cold breeze, with the thermometer at 60°. A little

more wind, and there would be a dust-storm. Theenemy of the canal is wind, shifting the sand. It de-

pends upon continual labour to make it a continuous

benefit ; dust-storms have sometimes been known to

delay vessels three days in the canal and in these

lakes. The Duke says the yacht has been lifted

four inches in this lake by the increased buoyancy

of the water— ' no, not with our consumption of the

stores.' The lakes here, especially the Bitter Lakes,

are extremely salt. There are salt-beds in these

lakes, solid like chalk-pits. The density of the

water at Ismailia Avill cause six inches displacement

in a flat-bottomed boat drawing twenty feet of

water.

The fish of Lake Temsah are very good ; we had

some of them for breakfast, a sort of soles, and we had

for dinner some good white salmon—as the steward

wrote it in the menu. We went ashore at some

distance from Ismailia to see our men draw the

seine in comparatively shoal water. The fish were'

new to all of us. Our first haul caught what looked

like grey mullet—they called them salmon—mth a

sharp fin like a perch, one fin too many for a trout

;

some bream-like fish and a chad, as Mr. Butters, the

first mate, a Cornishman, called it; and another like

a mullet, with no spots, but with a fine line down

the sides. We caught a very delicate sort of white-

bait, and a red and greenish rock-fish, and another

c

18 LESSEPSIA.

fish something like the chad, with vertical bands in

grey and yellow, and purple in the gills. They

found mussels, cockles, and ' butter-fish ' much

sweeter to eat than the cockle. The two largest

fish in the net were sea-trout.

I gathered several varieties of a juicy sort of

marine desert-plants, and a dwarf tamarisk with

elongated pink berries, and one sort with green

berries, which become yellow when ripe. Bertha

took home a green locust to make a pet of. Wealways speak of the yacht as home. When the

Duke was passing through the Red Sea with the

Prince of Wales, on their way to India in the Sera-

pis, sailing about twelve miles an hour, they sailed

for two days through a swarm of dead locusts which

had been driven to sea.

Hereabouts, according to German Egyptologists

and others, was formerly the head of the Red Sea

and the place where the Israelites crossed over.

This was most likely at one time the head of the

Red Sea, but I think we may reasonably look for

the crossing-place of the Israelites lower down in

the canal, at the point where the Haj caravan road

passes to Mecca. I will give my reasons by-and-by

when we come to the spot.

We climbed the steep quicksandy banks, and the

men had a race up the bank, and they all rolled

down, or leapt oflF, or got down the quickest waythey could ; a shilling to the winner, the first up

and down. Dead heat between two of the men ; up

again like cats, and then a wash to get the sand off

them. Then came a swimming-match, and the men

LESSEPSIA. 19

rowed out for the swim, the dog wildly excited.

' Fetch 'era, Lappy.' Rose the burly bos'un blown.

'Where are ye when the rose is blown?' Theyoungest swimmer won.

When the smart engineer had a ducking there

were roarsall round and chaflp.

'Ah, you just jumped out of the net. A fine

fish.'—

' Is there deep water again here for the net ?'

' Yes, I know it's deep,' said the engineer, and

they drew it again; cockles and jelly-fish in the

next haul, nothing else but mud, horrid black,

slimy mud. The sand on the west end of the lake is

thickly encrusted with salt. Fat Joe at the water-jar.

' Easy with it, Joe.'—

' Put some water with it,

Joe.'—' Rolypoly has failed away since his race.'

Now the men have leapfrog all round, and high

j ump, and all sorts of sports, pleasant on this cool,

cloudy day.

At evening the light-hearted sailors wake ' the

lively strain,' or simple homely pathos of the sailor's

love-song, and foot the merry reel to Aleck's pipes,

the second cook's banjo, and the bones. The moonshaped like a caique, glittering upon the lost and re-

born lake, this Perdita of waters.

I was up before the anchor rose and on the bridge

to see the entrance to the Bitter Lakes, for I had never

yet travelled on the canal below Ismailia. Pretty

scenery of its peculiar sort, blue lakes with sandy

borders rising into undulating desert fading off into

illimitable azure, the blue Jebel Ataka rising in the

southern distance, all soon to be shut out as we re-

enter the deeply sunken canal : the furniture of the

c 2

20 LESSEFSIA.

landscape comprises a house-boat moored to its little

plot of lattice-fenced enclosure, neat signal houses

with gardens and trellised vines. Wherever a drop of

fresh water can be brought, there palms and gardens

grow. There is clay just under the sand. Here is

a palm-grove half-hidden behind the sand-bank.

Besides these objects here is a long train of trucks

drawn on rails by mules, each mule led by an Arab.

There is abundant employment of labour, but no

cotn^c'e, we English stood out against that.

The French mail-steamer ahead of us, that went

on last night by electric light, has run aground, and

has been stuck since three o'clock this morning.

This may delay us, though the pilot opines there

will be room enough for us to pass, although an-

other large steamer blocked by her cannot get by.

After much signalling by balls and pennants at the

mast-head of the stranded steamer we hear we mayprobably have to remain all day and night here in

the canal ; other steamers are evidently unable to

pass this disabling ship. Just at the entrance to

the Bitter Lakes, too, it is provoking to think that

a hundred yards would have cleared us. 'A veryrare thing this to happen, not once in three months,not once before in this year, and never before withthe Messageries boats ' in the pilot's recollection, anEnglish pilot, too. Five vessels all here waiting to

pass, and the Peninsular and Oriental ship Coro-mandel, wanting to come northward, is in the Bitter

Lakes just ahead, fuming away finely. Well shemay, the pilot has known a twelve days' stoppagein his time.

LES8EPSIA. 21

At a quarter-past two we are told by some one in

authority that we may move on and pass the ships,

all a propos of nothing that we can see. It seems a

special favour to ourselves brought down in a

message by the tug which has convoyed a flotilla

of lighters into which the Messageries ship will

have to unload.

"We get up steam, and pass the Niagara of Liver-

pool, Hypatia of West Hartlepool, Perim of London,and Daphne of Hamburg, all lying near the tongueof green and palm-grown land ended by the pier

and flag-staff opposite the white salt-encrusted

shore on the port bow. The fact transpires that

the station-master here could not give us permission

to pass, an order must be given by two men, one at

each end of the canal ; one official alone has no

power to issue an enabling order ; and a special

pilot must come and see for himself what orders

may be given. This sounds red-tapey, considering

the ease with which we passed when permitted to

do so ; but the French are good men of business,

nevertheless, and they are obliged to have respect

to their canal banks. We are now going on at our

own risk ; if anything goes wrong, this ship will

have to stand the whole of the damage.

The lines of canal-buoys still mark the course of

the channel ; here lies, somewhat aslant, the

Messageries boat Tarra of Marseilles, the cause of

the delay, and the tug-boat by her. We go very

close to her, then mutually dip our ensigns, and the

officers salute each other. Now we enter the Bitter

Lakes—now we are to go as hard as ever the engineer

22 LESSEPSIA.

can pull us—for a bit. Now, at 2.40 p.m., we pass

the Peninsular and Oriental ship, that still lies

waiting impatiently in the Bitter Lakes, and an

Italian vessel ; we dip our ensign to the Peninsular

and Oriental.

Now the other vessels going our way are coming

on as well, the whole fleet of them ; we head the

procession, and another vessel is coming up from

Suez. Really this one canal is not large enough to

carry all the commerce, increasing as it is, too,

every year ; it reminds one of the Strand obstruction

at Temple Bar.

' How's her head ?' is the anxious query. It seems

to be easy, and we move on. The pilots magnify

their office as much as possible. As we pass the

St. Regulus (?) of Bombay, there is a signal up ahead

that we are to anchor again, in order that a mail-

boat in the distance may pass us here.

We rowed ashore on the side opposite the distant

railway to a low sandy shore, very deceptive and

apparently receding from us. What we thought and

were told was ten minutes off took us forty minutes

to row to it ; the white sand, with black marks on it,

under the clear green water looking as if about six

feet below the boat. A lighthouse is built near

here, and several buoys with black cormorants

perched upon them. There are plenty of pretty

comb-like shells (Murex tribulus) on the shore;

indeed, the beach is made almost entirely of shells,

cockles, miissels, and tiny whorls of the Terebrida)

family of shells, extending far inland, where, as far

as one can judge, the water has not been of late.

LESSEPHIA. -n

Here the desert is dotted witli hillocks of white sand,

fine and without shells, like mole-hills something,

with holes in their sides, the holes mostly in pairs,

but sometimes in groups. Here also are camel foot-

prints and those of some other animal—gazelles

probably, as they are too deep for dogs—Lappymakes no footprints—^yet full small for asses.

Farther inland the shells diminish in quantity,

though they are still numerous, the cockles always

worn and nearly always broken.

We rowed home in the violet glow of evening, the

dim daffodil of the sky becoming later a dense flame

colour with tender azure above and light broken

clouds. Dense bronze-tinted clouds gathering all

round, chiefly over Jabel Ataka, ready to fall on

the arid desert, I hope.

' You have a fine lot of weeds this time, ma'am,'

the mate remarks of the specimens of desert plants

I have brought on board ; small tufty plants of the

same nature, but less succulent than the juicy and

berried plants I gathered near Lake Temsah.

Much interest is taken in natural history by the

officers of the ship, but they have not yet acquired

the rudiments. 'How's that cockroach of yours?'

Herries the steward asks Bertha concerning her

pet locust.

We had bass or bream for dinner. ' Some calls it

bass, some calls it bream,' said the fisherman, when

questioned. We have seen wild-duck in the lake here.

Off at daybreak. I was up on the bridge by

half-past seven, just before we entered the canal

ditch, whose steep banks shut out the view of the

2-t LESSEPSIA.

desert undulations, and we could only see JebelAtaka

rising aerially blue behind the yellow ridge. Here

are great dredging-machines near the ferry, where the

main road of the Haj caravan passes to Mecca. Acaravan of pilgrims and camels was here waiting to

cross. The high banks are made by the continued

dredging, otherwise the desert is level here, as if it

had formerly been sea. To me this place looks like

the real point of the Israelites' crossing. Theywould have travelled by a known road, with wells.

Nothing terrestrial is more immutable than a line

of road ; especially so in the East. The v/aters were

divided ; on one side was the basin of the present

Bitter Lakes, on the other was the Red Sea. These

were a wall of defence on both hands, and behind

the Israelites the waters flowed back when God with-

drew His mighty wind.

Suez lies to the starboard, behind the spit of

land ending the canal j Suez, pretty with its

white houses set in foliage, the stratified Jebel

Ataka rising brokenly behind the town. The blue

canal here makes a semi-circular sweep towards

Suez, where the train is just coming in. This is

a sort of no man's land; neither French, English,

nor Egyptian. It is Lessepsia. Now we are in the

blue Red Sea ; and here are the docks, built withbad cement by a French contractor. Lesseps hasplaced near here as a monument to Waghorn, origi-

nator of the overland route, his bust shaded by alarge crimson poinsettia.

Mr. Roberts, the Peninsular and Oriental Com-pany's agent, came to see what he could do for the

LESSEPSIA. 25

Duke. We meant to ride to Suez on donkeys, so lie

helped Harries and others to mount us. Lady Clare

took the lead on 'Mary Anderson,' with the doctor

on ' Two Lovely Black Eyes ;' the Duke was mountedon the ' Bishop of London,' rather a hard trotter ; I

secured ' Jubilee,' (appropriately named for me),

which I thought would be a steady-going beast.

Herries looked majestic on a moke;

perhaps

the creature was proud, but I hardly think he was

happy. The stout steward only rode as far as the

station, electing to go on to Suez by train, anything

to get out of the way of the chaff about his requir-

ing two donkeys to carry him. He rode one when

he was here before. 'Ah, that donkey has grown

older since then, and can't carry you now. Youmust mount an elephant.'

I felt almost young again as I enjoyed the two-

mile gallop to the town, and quite at home on the

clumsy eastern saddle. "We walked our donkeys

gently through the busy, crowded streets, and, whenwe dismounted, I followed the tall Duke's white

helmet, as an oriflamme, through the bazaar. Suez

has seven thousand inhabitants, and is a very dirty

place. The pariah dogs are the scavengers. Whenthese grow too numerous, they poison them at

intervals, by five or six hundred at a time. The

vegetable gardens were pointed out to us a little

beyond the town. They are not badly off for

supplies here, and they get plenty of milk, as they

keep Aden cows—pretty creatures, dove-coloured,

with humps, and smaller, tawny cows, with humps

less defined. Mrs. Roberts gave us great purple

26 LESSEPSIA.

branches of the thorny bougainvillea, as the nearest

approach to holly, for our Christmas pudding. It

was like spoiling the Egyptians, to carry off this glori-

ous mass of rich purple bloom, though this splendour

of colour is nothing to them. They can grow

flowers in profusion, and the sunsets here are so

magnificent that even the Arabs will sometimes

stop to gaze at them.

'The seasons here are marked as they are else-

where,' says Mr. Roberts. Monsieur Thevenet said

just the reverse at Ismailia. A dragon-fly hovering

about, and many butterflies, prevent our realizing

that it is the shortest day ; and, as Christmas is

approaching, our officers and men have to-day put

on white duck suits.

Mrs. Roberts has a choice collection of curios,

embroideries, and works of art, and a beautiful

glass cabinet of shells and Red Sea corals. I

gathered on the shore many of the fairy Lamellaria

shells that float on the wavelets, which look as if

made of tissue paper. The Duke invited Mr. Roberts,

with his wife and daughter, to lunch on board ; andsoon afterwards we left Suez. This is the real

farewell to Europe.

27

CHAPTER II.

THE RED SEA.

But to thee, as thy lode-stars resplendently burn

In their clear depths of blue, with devotion I turn,

Bright Cross of the South ! and beholding thee shine,

Scarce regret the loved land of the olive and vine.

Shine on—my own land in a far distant spot.

Where the stars of thy sphere can enlighten it not,

And the eyes that I love, tho' e'en now they may be

O'er the firmament wandering, can gaze not on thee.

Mks. Hemans.

Beyond the Well of Moses, with its solitary palm-

tree marked on the chart, the well a fount per-

petually bubbling from the ground, is the spot

where Palmer and Gill were murdered, the precipice

they were compelled to leap oiF.

Suez looks like a white star retreating in the

distance.

The shaded blue African mountains are muchloftier than the reddish desert sand-hills of Edom,

from which the Red Sea is said to take its name.

The Persians call this the ' White Sea,' from the

milky hue of its waters where the white sand is

stirred up, and the white coral lining its shores.

The water is of a lovely shade of blue. Jebel Ataka

28 THE RED SEA.

rises two thousand six hundred and forty feet.

One would think there could be no tending of flocks

in Midian ; it looks all desert and parched rock of

red or rusty hue. Towards evening the coasts pre-

sent a yet greater contrast to each other : the

rugged high lands of Africa are shadowed purple-

blue, while the tawny crags of Arabia are suffused

with warm, rosy light ; mist falling, the east becomes

rosy lilac, the west a deep plum-colour. Soon all

chills off, and the deepening greys remind us that

this is the shortest day. Now the whitened precipices

of the Arabian hills look ashy, as if burnt out ; but

to the very last the summits retain a tender pinky

hue.

I read some chapters of Exodus and Job. The

scenery brought vividly before my recollection the

music of 'Israel in Egypt,' which I had heard just

before leaving home : this wild, mysterious land-

scape is so fitted for the scene of miracles, as one reads

marvellous natural convulsions in every indentation

of the coast. 1 seemed again to hear that loud,

majestic strain, ' He rebuked the Red Sea,' followed

by the breathed amazement, 'And it was dried up,'

re-echoed from shore to shore.

The ' Hailstone Chorus ' is the finest descriptive

piece of music I know, and nearly equal to this is

the solemn, awful chorus of the ' Darkness ' and the

' Death of the First-born,' followed by the pastoral,

' He led them forth like sheep ; He led them through

the wilderness,' where one cannot travel safely even

now—witness Palmer and Gill's precipice.

At dawn the scene was changed : the wilderness

THE RED SEA. 29

was spread before us, dark beneath the sunrise, only

the topmost crags flecked with brightness in his

rising, as he shone full on the hills of Africa, and

on the blackened wreck of the Ulysses standing

upright, her bows almost sixty feet out of the water.

A rugged, darkened lower range of hills—the island

of Shadwan—now appears in front of the blue

mountains of Africa, ranging from six thousand to

seven thousand feet high. On this island, the captain

tells me, he once gathered three hundredweight of

the most beautiful shells he ever saw. Sinai is just

visible behind the loftier peak of Saint Katherine, in

the midst of the appallingly wild range of Horeb.

It is much disputed whether the peak of Sinai be

actually visible from the sea. Our captain (who

knows the Red Sea as I know Great Russell Street)

pointed it out to me, and I saw it distinctly, even

without the glass.

It is as if a violent storm had here been suddenly

petrified ; this scene of Almighty wrath and mercy.

The colours in the morning light are exquisitely

tender above the indigo-tinted sea. We have comequicker than we reckoned, having had a two-knot

current with us since midnight. These variable

currents and the incalculable deviations of the com-

pass, puzzle navigators in the Red Sea.

Under the dark-blue-lined double awning on the

deck we sit and read ' The Light of Asia,'—our days

rock on and sea splashes cool all round, hummingin ' innumerous ' harmonies, the breeze caressing us

into peace, while on the north-east Mount Horeb,

like a warm cloud, melts in the blue space of the

30 THE RED SEA.

firmament. The little pet wild duck patters the deck

fearlessly by our side, the Lapland dog comes near,

snufl&ng us a kindly recognition—not frightening

the wild duck nor the brace of rabbits scampering

round the deck ; these ground-game creatures belong

to the sailors, but they are always welcome on our

end of the ship. A blue ensign of gauzy bunting is

hung up to veil the glare of the forenoon sky below

the awning, and everything is arranged for our well-

being as we sail on to tropic lands, the first sight of

which, Darwin tells us, is like beholding a newplanet. Above the peace shine the bright stars of

hope and expectation. The ^Eolian wind sweeps

lightly the cordage of the fair white ship, accom-

panying our thoughts as they rove at large in

fancies eager yet restful. The mountains of the

Egyptian coast are visible as a purple fringe of peaks

all day. The sun sets like a firework in crimson and

gold over Jebel-Umm-Kabash. The temperature of

the sea is eighty degrees, the same as the air. Thesea-bath feels warm to the feet. We have sea-baths at

will ; we have only to lift up a lid in the floor of our

cabins and turn a tap.

I cannot think that luxury is always ' le mauvais

superflu.' The only crook in our lot just now is

that we cannot at once get the next number of the

serial story we are reading.

' Oh, I can tell you how it ends,' says the Duke.' Of course she don't believe in him till the last

chapter but three, and then it comes out all right.'

Now we know how his Grace would construct a

novel, a kind of book he seldom reads.

THE RED SEA. 81

Early on the 23rd December, I saw the Morning

Star ; I thought it "was daybreak, and looked out of

my porthole, and lo ! it was Venus like a perfect

tiny crescent, much rounded, exquisitely beautiful

and glittering. I never saw this effect before, and,

though I was of course aware of the phases of Venus,

I did not know they could ever be discerned by the

naked eye. I read later—28th February, Avhen at

Bangkok—in the Times of 13th January, of Venusappearing (at home) as a morning star with morethan her usual splendour. No wonder so near Christ-

mas that people talked of the Star of Bethlehem.

One bluff visible of the Nubian coast to-day,

naught else save flying-fish, bonitas and porpoises.

We are now -within the tropics, having passed the

tropic of Cancer this afternoon. At sunset we pass

the Emerald mountains of Nubia in the distance

and St. John's Isle, called by the natives the

Emerald Isle ; but here the emeralds are mineral.

The North Star is already low on the horizon.

On Christmas Eve our solitude was unbroken

save when we dipped our ensign to a Peninsular

and Oriental steamer homeward-bound. I could

see to read till five minutes to six.

After dinner we went aft to listen to the mensinging and making ready for Christmas Eve, anddancing the hornpipe by moonlight to Aleck's pipes.

The second cook, tenor and banjoist, who was in

smart fancy dress, danced a wild hornpipe andbreakdown capitally. Rose, the bos'un, sang his

favourite, perhaps his only song, in honour of Bea-

consfield

:

82 THE RED SEA.

' As a statesman we'll ne'er find his equil,

To his country he's ever proved trew-ew,' &e.

The sailors kept the music up late, ending

with three cheers for the Duke of Sutherland,

and three cheers for the ladies; ditto for the

doctor, and three cheers more for the whole ship's

company.

On Christmas Day we were all sea-sick, except the

Duke, with the heat and roughness. At 9.15 a.m., his

Grace decided to make for Massowah as a refuge, and,

before dark, we got into smoother water behind a

small island within the coral reefs. Land seen with

the night-glasses three miles ahead. Careful steer-

ing required, cautious and slow because of the coral

reefs ; the bright moonlight made it somewhat

easier.

The chef did his best for a Christmas dinner, con-

sidering the rumbling, tumbling of the sea. It al-

ways amazes me how they can cook at all whenevery lurch may succeed in capsizing their sauce-

pans ; and * dishing up ' will ever remain a marvel

of legerdemain. He iced us a little cake to look

seasonable, and gave us roast turkey and plum-

porridge.

We drank to absent friends.

Daylight showed the lofty, wavy outline of the

Abyssinian mountains rising above the mist as westeam down the coast about two or three miles off

shore. Below this Alpine chain is an undulating

ridge of table-land, then another lower range of

hills and the low, level shore, sandy and sultry, with

green crops here and there ; the large, white tomb

THE RED SEA. 33

of Mirza-Sheikh-Boneer on the shore and Massowahbefore us.

We dropped anchor at Massowah soon after break-

fast, and the Italian admiral, thinking the /Sans Peur

was a ship of war, quickly sent off a young officer

from the flagship to ask our intentions. The Dukeat once went to call on the admiral, who accom-

panied his Grace on shore, and we ladies went on

shore for a walk. Lappy gave himself leave to

swim ashore, took a walk, and swam back safely.

This Lapland dog has never heard of sharks. LadyClare went on walking with her maid, while I sat

with the Duke and the admiral in the officers'

pavilion at the Cercle drinking ' soda champagne,'

that is, raspberry syrup and seltzer. The flies are

so thick as to blacken everything ; they say it is the

season for them, they go away in summer. A young

artillery officer, son and aide-de-camp of the General

San Marzano, in chief command of the army here,

was introduced to us as a rara avis, a lusus naturae,

a young man who did not smoke nor drink, whomthey laughingly but affectionately called ' a youngman of all the virtues.' He was commissioned to

take us about to see the neighbourhood. We looked

into the bazaar, a narrow winding street, partially

shaded with matting, about as unclean as any bazaar

can be ; the shops are only dirty little holes under

the houses, with very little in them, apparently, to

sell. It is true we saw them out of business hours,

when most of the people were asleep ; the hours of

siesta are apparently long here. The other streets

are not imposing, being gullies of about eight to

D

31 THE RED SEA.

ten feet wide. The Italians, however, mean to see

to all this, and remodel the town and drain it.

We walked back to the boat through the busier

parts of the town where the Europeans have their

wharves, employing a pleasant, merry-faced black

population, whosingin chorus over theirwork of land-

ing stores from lighters. Many of these, and the boat-

men about the harbour, are Somali men from Aden.

It is quite an Alpine country over yonder, well-

suited to be an Italian colony. The mountains wesee are never snow-clad, but the admiral says there

is frequently snow on those of the interior, loftier

still than these. The town is entirely Oriental,

nothing has been Europeanised. There are two

mosques, but, though Abyssinia is Christian, I have

not had churches pointed out to me. There are

but four European ladies in Massowah, and only one

of them is young; so Lieutenant San Marzanotold meregretfully. The Italian consul's house is the only

one that gives any idea of real comfort. They bave

no longer a consulate here, as the place is undermilitary control ; but this man, who was the consul,

still lives here for business purposes. We have noconsul, although there are five hundred English

subjects here, chiefly Banians, British Indian sub-

jects who bring trade in cotton, grain, perfumes,

ornaments, etc., from Bombay. Many of the shops in

the bazaar belong to the Banians. The Italians, whoof course wish to keep trade, especially in printed

cottons, in their own hands, ride rough over these

people, might being right under a military regime.

We have a consul at Suakim, but Suakim is shut up.

THE RED SEA. ,35

For some time to come there must be a consider-

able trade with Bombay ; for, as at Suakim, every-

thing is brought from Bombay, the Italians (at

least, it was so before the peace) draw nothing from

the country— ' except prawns,' said the lieutenant,

doubtingly.

'And except eggs, I suppose, and milk?' for I

had seen the humped Aden cows here, both grey

and light brown. Still I hear they get beef from

Bomba}', and the mutton here is bad.

We bought ostrich feathers from the numerous

pertinacious Arabs and Jews that thronged the

yacht. ' My bargain ver sheep,' kept on the repre-

sentatives of the Abyssinian lost tribes.

' We can't look without these fellows shaking fea-

thers before one's face. They don't understand no.'

' They understand the advantage of not under-

standing,' said the Duke.' Ras Alula and English great friends, Italian no

good,' say the donkey boys. Perhaps they represent

the feeling of the natives who hate this state of things.

The Italians shut up the port from trade, which has

now no outlet. The Italian original idea was to

beat the Abyssinians or hold their territory until

they should come to terms and open up trade.

The Italians are not as yet spending much moneyon this place ; they laid out very little so long as

the fortune of war made it uncertain whether or no

they would remain here ; but one hears the railway

Avhistle, and they have far-seeing plans to which I

shall refer later. There are eighteen thousand

Italian troops here and two thousand Bashi-Bazouks

D 2

86 THE RED SEA.

and they have already sent for reinforcements. The

tents are scattered about the plain to a good dis-

tance. I shall throughout speak of the place as it

was when I saw it ; this will give the best idea of

what the Italians have done before and since.

At four o'clock Mr. Portal, of the English media-

torial mission, came off to call on the Duke. Un-

luckily it was just as we were stepping into the gig

for an excursion inland arranged by the admiral,

and the horses and carriages and escort were already

waiting. The Duke asked Mr. Portal to dinner, but

we were sorry that he was engaged to dine with the

Italian general and going to Suez early next morn-

ing in a coasting steamer. I was very sorry to miss

seeing more of a man who must have had much of

interest to tell. Mr. Portal was kept a prisoner for

eight days by Has Alula, the then Abyssinian general,

who was interested in keeping the Negus misin-

formed as to the strength of the Italian force. Hetold the Negus that the Italians were only eight

thousand eight hundred men.' I am English,' said Portal.

' No, you are Italian, you are soldier.'

Luckily Mr. Portal had one of the Italian horses,

and was saved by it. The interpreter, who had no

horse, was killed.

Two mule-carriages were waiting for us on the

mainland, and some pretty Arab horses, in case the

gentlemen preferred riding. The Duke drove one

carriage, and the young Italian officer was my com-

panion in the other. He was, I fancy, not used to

mule-driving, for he had continually to call to the

THE RED tiEA. 37

' puntato," a non-commissioned officer who rode by

our side, to come and pull the mule along. But the

animal Avould not go, so the Duke had to take the

lead across the level, and now by the aid of the

' puntato ' and the whip we followed in a deviating

course. My fingers itched to take the reins, but I

could find no polite excuse for offering to drive

while the lieutenant rode one of the pretty Arabs.

The plain was set with a plant with broad, bright-

green leaves, the Calotropis procera,* and with tall

cactus-like plants, very stiff and straight. These

latter are, in fact, euphorbias, for there is only one

species of the great cactus order found in an indi-

genous wild state outside of the New World, and

that is the curious leafless rhipsalis cassytha of Cey-

lon. In one of our many involuntary stoppages I

thought to gather, or rather hew down, one of these

great cactuses, but the Duke called out,

' Don't distress yourself about them ; I'll send

you some better ones from Trentham.'

The Abyssinian plains are infested with tarantulas.

This plain is also sprinkled with Arab villages of

the friendly Habab tribe, the men of which wear

numerous small platted tails of hair. These villages

swarm with children, the younger ones naked. Their

bee-hive-shaped huts are wattled with brush-wood.

We now drove along the lower ridge of the rising

ground to a village near Otumlo, where the hills

begin. From here we could see the stone causeway

that connects Massowah with the island of Taulud,

and the long causeway, one kilometre long, connect-

* Note A, Appendix.

38 THE RED SEA.

inf Taulud with the mainland. Here was General

Gene's camp. He was here retrieving his name and

rubbing off the tarnish of his former defeat at Dogali.

Italy was licked in a fair fight; they called it a

massacre because the Abyssinians gave no quarter.

Here at this strong point of the Italian iron frontier

we alighted and walked about the friendly, almost

too friendly population. The children noticed

which sorts of flowers I gathered, and offered memore. They looked very lively and intelligent, and

took a deep interest in my sketch of the dwelling of

the richest man in the village, an Arab, who lives

in a square house built of stone, with overhanging

windows of woodwork, and a triple-headed arch

over the principal entrance with rosettes on each

side. This house, like many of the bigger huts, has

a neatly wattled enclosure round it. This is for the

purpose of securing the domestic animals from the

attacks of the numerous wild animals who prowl

round the villages at night, and would otherwise do

a good deal of depredation. The dwellings of the

village altogether are superior to the hovels of the

Egyptian fellahin. The Hababs are friendly, but

Lieutenant San Marzano tells me the Italians do

not trust them implicitly ; they would at once

betray or turn against them for profit.

Italy, say the Italians, is doing the work of

England. England would not permit France or

Russia to hold Massowah, as it might give themtoo strong a grip on the Red Sea. Russia always

advances, therefore she must be allowed no port on

the Red Sea, whence she might stride to India ; so

THE RED SEA. 39

England offered Massowah to Italy. Next week

they think we shall offer them Suakim.' We are so generous in offering anything that we

don't want,' said his Grace.

Perim, they say, is really more important to us

than Gibraltar. So it is, until the Persian Gulf

route is made. Not Russia, not France may hold

the Red Sea : only England or Italy. Suakim will

be held for the same reason.

' Italy requires Massowah,' says young San Mar-

zano, in the lofty manner of young Italy, ' therefore

I am here. If 1 die, I shall return home the sooner.'

He says they consider England has been generous

to them, not in giving Massowah, but in advising

them that the enemy is a serious one. They do not

want Magdala ; Azraara suffices Italy.

It was too dark to drive to the causeways uniting

Massowah to the mainland, so we hastened to the

pier by Fort Abd-el-Kader, on the northernmost of

the two nearly parallel peninsulas adjoining the

island of Massowah. We drove as fast as the mules

would drag us through the swamps and tidal water-

courses, and arrived by nightfall at the camp, where

the bugles were blowing and supper was being pre-

pared for the troops. We drove as far as we could

through the camp, and then Avalked to the pier,

picking our way by lantern-light through the manyobstructions of a camp, and the constructions belong-

ing to the new pier and terminus. Lieutenant di

San Marzano dined with us.

We were interested by this handsome young

soldier, ' the young man of all the virtues, who did

40 THE RED SEA.

not smoke. He tasted all our wines in boyish

curiosity. ' He doesn't drink, either,' said the doctor,

satirically- But he really did not take much

alcohol, for the Duke's wines are not fortified;pure

sherry and port, excellent, but in their mildest forms,

just as they drink them in Spain and Portugal.

The lieutenant was engaged to a young lady at

Genoa. He showed us each in profound secrecy a

locket containing hair and engraved with the English

words, 'For ever.' Decay, he said, presented no

idea to him. ' If I die I shall live in their' (Italy

and his ladylove's) ' memory till time is no more.'

The young artillery-man was excited somewhat with

the prospect of speedily going into action.

' Oh, when we die w^e shall find seventy houris

awaiting us on the other side,' said the doctor, whoalwaj's dreamt of those seventy lovely women in

the shrubberies of the Peris, meanwhile remaining

a bachelor here for their sakes.

' The bird in hand is better far than ten that in

the bushes is,' quoted Lady Clare.

The Knight of the Locket hoped he would not be

compelled to take the seventy. 'Faithful to one,'

was his motto. ' Je ne les connais pas, les soixante-

dix de I'autre cote. Ah ! I can't explain it, it is

inexplicable ; les trops sont trops absolumma.' His

French being Italian-French, he always softened the

syllable ment into ma. How ? Gonxma. ' Besides,

I always sing the " Chanson de Retour." That is

Garibaldi's hymn.' He sighed, as from a full heart

:

and no wonder, poor lad ! His life altogether was

pretty full just now. The New Year so close at hand

THE RED SEA. 41

what would it bring to him ? He had volunteered

for African service because he wished to be with his

father, the general in chief command here.

He was interested rather than astonished at the

bagpipes, which are always played after dinner,

when the yacht is in port. He knew the Neapolitan

' pifferari.'

General di San Marzano sent off a note to his

son, telling him to ' make himself charming to these

English people,'—which we assured, and re-assured,

him he was doing—and also an offer of a special

train for us to go as far as the outposts of the campto-morrow. The Duke had only to name the hour

that suited him.

Evening, fortunately, puts an end to the nuisance

of the flies, which, like the other vermin of the

country, retire to secure hiding-places to sleep.

The patent punkah was fitted up for us at Massowah,

which relieved the breakfast-table of the plague of

flies, ' trying to make their living in an honest way,'

as the Duke indulgently remarked.

We were to be called for soon after breakfast byLieutenant San Marzano, to go by train to an

advanced outpost at the end of the railway, nine

miles (thirteen kilometres) off. They sent the

general's boat for us, with awnings, manned byrowers in red jerseys, white pants, and blue ker-

chiefs. They were trained to a peculiar stroke, one

long pull, and then a pause, da capo. We rowed

to the Abd-el-Kader station, encircled by the blue-

capped tents of the camp we passed through last

evening at bivouac.

42 THE RED SEA.

Till the train -was ready, we took shelter in a large

matted hut, with a tall pent-house all round, roughly

colonnaded with timber, and shaded with matting,

simple and cool, as the breeze could pass every way,

and the hut was always shady at least on two sides.

The beds—placed, for coolness, in the pent-house

verandah—were made of nothing but matting.

These precautions are necessary ; for it was even

now so hot in the sun that some sulphur-flowered

plants growing by the hut were drooping already.

Our friends found, on examination, that the special

carriage it was intended we should have had was not

ready; it had just arrived, incomplete, from Italy,

and could not be put together in time ; so they sent

an ordinary military carriage forward for us. Theline is a very narrow gauge, with iron sleepers for

the rails. Strong-looking navvies were working onthe line. The engineer of the line has two thousand

men under him. Two-thirds of the water they use

here is condensed. Two English condensing vessels

that we used in Abyssinia are hired by the Italian

government, though the .ships still carry Englishflags. The Duke saw these condensing vessels before

they went out to Abyssinia, and so we ladies wouldnot let the Italian officers have the trouble of

showing us over them — as they kindly offered to

do—though their machinery is said to be veryinteresting. Each of the ships condenses one hun-dred and fifty tons a-day or more, yet they maynot give a gallon of water away without an order

from the admiralty.

We found it so hot in our carriage, next the

THE RED SEA. 43

engine, and open to it, that, we had to shift to the

third-class compartment at the back. I catalogued

the objects of interest in my note-book as we went

on. Item, military store depot and naval arsenal, also

a fort erected at the shoreward end of the peninsula,

called Abd-el-Kader from the tomb of a Mussulman

notability of that name erected on it, and a good

view of the causeway from Massowah to the main-

land, with the blue mountain range behind it ; menbathing, at great risk of sunstroke, in the nearer

lagoons, and in the distance opposite the town are

advanced posts and tiny white towns of tents. Theland here is parched and desert-like, except where

the tidal streams gather into lagoons and lose them-

selves in swamps ; the arid plain is studded with dwarf

tamarisk and the tall cactus-like euphorbia abyssinica,

the latter usually overgrown with a parasitic plant.

There arenumerous small birds. A militaryambulance

is going across country, past a native village chiefly

of rounded huts formed of sticks planted upright

in the ground in a circle, bent together at the top,

and covered Avith reed-mats. Here at Otumlo station

is an oasis of palms and acacias walled round with

mud. The station—that is, the open ground where

the train halts ; for, of course, there is no actual

station—swarms with little ebony-black boys, with

eager, intelligent faces. The animal look predomi-

nates in their faces as they grow older. The little

black mud-larks, bathing, cheer the train, just as

British boys would do. Human nature is so muchalike everywhere ; and boys will be boys. A camel

wanders on the line : so much the worse for the

U THE RED SEA.

camel. The shrieks of the engine clear the line, and

the camel stalks off, making a face at us.

The extensive native villages here are densely-

populated. The women wear abundant white drapery.

Among a group at the well, I see several grand,

majestic forms of women finely draped. Now we

pass near the village we visited last night, Zaga,

close to the camp where General Gene, at the head

of the Regiment des Morts, commands the ' forlorn

hope.' There are little gardens laid out round some

of the tents, and clumps of palms, a kind of chamaj-

rops. Near here is the Swedish mission-house, a neat

stone house with a wooden verandah. It is nowclosed; an inscription declares, 'Ferraata Missione

Suedese.' The undulating land begins here ; and

up the hills march camels carrying timber, chiefly

for constructions.

Abubulana station. Here grows miuch ofthat large,

green-leaved plant, the calotropis, three to four feet

high. Here is aregimentoffineblack soldiers, and here

we see the tall, straw, sugar-loaf hats of Piedmon-

tese workmen busy at work on some solid buildings

in the neighbourhood of a hill-fort commanding a

narrow valley, above which numerous vultures are

soaring. The scene reminds one of Aldershot, until

a swarm of the Hababi come down to see the train;

these natives, too, are employed as workmen to handle

the pickaxe and drive camels ; several of them are

grey-haired blacks. The regiments here wear sand-

coloured uniform ; white is bad, they say, as being

too conspicuous.

THE RED SEA. 45

46 THE RED SEA.

' If you were out hunting in white, you'd catch

nothing,' says the young lieutenant of artillery.

The river-beds are now empty, though this is the

rainy season, and five days since, they tell us, the

rain ploughed up this nearer torrent-bed, which is

now all channelled, yet dry. The scenery here is of

sand-hillocks, with a peep of the ' camp of our

destination ' at the farther end of a district of rocky

hills. There goes a galloping donkey to convey

news of something of consequence to somewhere,

the donkey's long tail streaming in the wind with

the speed. The flies divide our attention with the

view of a hilly desert, with numerous monkeys clam-

bering about the broken rocks and craggy peaks.

The valley closes in here. A dry, baked country even

now—what must it be in summer ! Earthquakes,

they sa,y, are frequently felt ; these blackened,

broken cliffs look like the result of volcanic explo-

sion. More blue-capped white tents, with the Italian

flag on the surrounding earthworks, and dust-

coloured tents on the stony land immediately round

us, with mules picketed handy by. The mules are

mostly brought from Poitou, the fodder likewise. Theartillery-horses are Italian, the cavalry use Egyptian

Arabs. There are also some pretty little Abyssinian

horses careering about and curveting showily.

These native horses are strong but small. The armycamels are bought or hired here. Near the terminus

are large hay-sheds with trusses of good hay. For

fuel they burn coal and the dry and broken branches

strewn about wherever there are trees.

On one of the farthest of the peaked hills closing

THE BED SEA. 47

in the tenriinus is a large zareeba fenced round with

brushwork. The telegraph extends to this point.

As we alighted, sundry and various generals and

brigadiers were introduced to us, and they gave us

ladies an arm to show us all about the camp. They

made much of us. The Dulce was a great friend of

Garibaldi, and many of the senior officers knew him

and were delighted to welcome hira. The briga-

diers stopped at the end of each one's command and

handed us over to other officers of rank, who took

us to the top of a hill whence we could see with a

telescope the whole surrounding hill-country. Do-

gali was pointed out to us in the middle distance,

the scene of the Italian disaster, a tragedy unendur-

able to the spirit of young Italy, which burns to

wipe out the stain in victory, or at least in a solid

success. The strikingly precipitous hills we see are

the Abyssinian highlands. The fort, named Victor

Emanuel, here at Monkullo, commands the whole of

the valley. Sentinels and outposts were to be seen

at different points on the hills beyond the camp ; a

sort of long-stop fielders. They were pressing on the

construction of the railway to Saati, about eleven

miles farther inland, extending the line and building

an iron bridge over the torrent course. Crowds of

natives were squatting about collecting stones to

make the roads, which are, however, in some places

supported by sandbags. Even the railway line is

here and there constructed in this way. The drain-

age is of necessity carefully attended to. Captain

Michelini was introduced to me, and, seeing mebotanizing, he told me of a blue flower he called

48 THE RED SEA.

a campanula growing a little distance off, and

carried me off to see it. It was a blue papiliona-

ceous flower, but no campanula, of coarse ; it is

called torea or taurea, very pretty, and of an intense

blue. The cultivated double variety is a handsome

flower ; I saw it later, growing in Siam.

Captain Michelini was the hero of the hour; he was

almost the only Italian survivor of the fight at Dogali,

at any rate the only officer. After receiving seven

wounds, one right through his body, during the

massacre, he crawled back on hands and knees from

Dogali to Massowah, some twenty kilometres, and

saved himself. He crawled for forty-eight hours in

this forlorn condition—a wonderfully plucky thing

to do ; he would not give up, but crept staggeringly

on as long as he could and brought back the news

of the engagement. To do this in such a climate,

through a hostile country, required not only an iron

will, but an iron constitution. When he came to

the village of Toulout, he was on all fours. Ninety

men were saved in all of the invading army; of

these but few were really Italians, and many have

since died of their wounds. It is next to impossi-

ble for Europeans to live during summer at Mon-kullo ; the summer heat is sometimes as high as

fifty centigrade degrees, one hundred and twenty-

two degrees Fahrenheit.

Captain Michelini is about thirty-five years of

age. He looked hearty and strong enough, and w^s

eager to go at it again !

There was an unusually large gathering of wild

and picturesque groups of natives lining the path as

THE RED SEA. 49

we passed, on account of their being assembled for

a fantasia, or native dance and festivity. We were

taken to a long tent, shaded by a few acacia-trees,

to bivouac Avith the officers.

'A la guerre comme a la guerre,' said they,

apologizing for the roughness and simplicity of

everything. We English are supposed to be so

wonderfully luxurious even in the midst of war.

At first they seemed quite horrified at the idea of

taking ladies to see their tents and their cooking

establishment ; it must, they thought, be so shock-

ing to all our ideas of comfort. ' We Italians are

so poor,' they said, ' you English cannot understand

it.'

To me it seemed like a camp of old heroic times,

this stern simplicity of life of these gentlemen,

sharing in all ways the hardships of their men;

their manners so simple yet refined. They might

all be descended from old Roman families, or, better

still, from Roman kings, consuls and tribunes.

Guerilla warfare has trained their leaders, many of

whom are Garibaldi's soldiers. They are business-

like about their work, and understand it thoroughly.

We might gain many hints from their Spartan sim-

plicity, we who almost always lose our first battles;

we can do nothing early in a campaign, until wehave got rid of our superabundant impedimenta.

Here there are few camp-followers, they have not

even a war correspondent.

Colonel Barattieri, who presided at luncheon,

showed us his work-room, a small tent of the sort

called ' tente d'abri,' sheltered by an arbour; it was

50 THE RED SEA.

quite simple, furnished only with a plain deal writing-

table, astool,and a camp-bed. Sofeware the necessaries

of life. A bath, which is such an absolute necessity in

a climate like this, is not altogether an impossibility

even here.

We had coffee in another dining-tent at some

distance, passing on the way the cooking-fires, which

reminded one more of going ' a-gipsying ' than of

our neat arrangements at Aldershot and Shorncliffe,

which indeed are military cities, while this is but a

camp in the wilderness. The rude camp-kettles, tin

coffee-pots, horn cups,and other furniture are delight-

fully business-like, as is the whole of the camp ; the

troops are prepared to fight to-morrow, to-day it maybe. Many of these fine fellows were with Garibaldi,

and anxious to shake hands with his friend the Duke.

His Grace wrote our names on the long deal table,

and was afterwards asked to write them in a book

also, as a memento of our visit.

An officerwhohad escaped from Saati, ared-bearded

captain fluent in English, now convoyed us to another

part of the camp surrounded closely by rocks abound-

ing in game, partridges, and gazelles, affording sport to

his greyhound, called Flirt, who has become thin as a

skeleton in Africa; there are also monkeys and hyenas,

and, more troublesome still, the fissured rocks afford

cover to sharpshooters of the enemy, requiring con-

stant watchfulness on the part of the Italian sentries.

In proceeding to where the train was waiting for

us to return, they showed us a typical well of the

country at Axheaf. These wells are simply andeasily made ; water is found anywhere at two metres

THE RED SEA. 61

deep, a hole is dug and surrounded by stones, and

there it is. While at Massowah they have no water

for hourly use, and most of the comforts of life here

depends on water; here at this camp is plenty of

water, and they pity their fellow-soldiers at Abd-el-

Kader camp for having so little. An aqueduct has

since this was written been formed from MonkuUoto Massowah. The water-carriers of the villages

are chiefly, if not always, women with goat-skin

bags. The soldiers carry canvas water-pails. The

Regiment dei Mori was drawn up for us to see, and

some companies of Bersaglieri, with a merry native

boy they called ' Diavolete ' with fez and red jacket,

the ' son of the regiment.' The train soon brought

us down to the level ground. Between two native

villages near we have a view of the Abyssinian Alps

rising before us in the distance beyond the Plain

delle Scimmie, as the Italians call it, where General

Baldizero is in command. Here are numerous Arabhorses, and water-tanks and troughs for the horses

to drink at. As it is but a single line, we have to

wait here some time, the train drawn up on a siding

at Barambara for a train that is bringing moretroops to the front. Here we shake hands with

several native officers in white draperies. Theyshake hands crossing the right hand over the left.

One of these officers was once a great brigand chief;

they took and tamed him here. He was introduced

to the great English Duke.

Captain Framari and Captain Cipriani, naval men,

who both spoke English, were here appointed to

explain things to us. ' Chippy,' as Lady Clare calls

B 2

52 THE RED SEA.

him, has come here to look for a bit of fun, for he

really belongs to the fleet at home, only he volun-

teered for service in Abyssinia. He has a pointer

with him, ' Ghost ' is his name. This dog has been

here seventeen months ; always thin, he gets more

and more wasted. What will be left of our poor

Lappy by-and-by ? ' Chippy ' will soon get his bit

of what he calls fun, for the army expects to fight

in a fortnight. ' Chippy ' is the only one among

them all who does not take a serious view of what

is really a very grave position. The Italians do not

want to annex the country, they wish to open it up

to their trade, and they intend to hold Massowah

as a free port for their goods. It is expected that

the present ad valorem duty of eight per cent, levied

on all commodities entering the port, which has

been hitherto devoted to local improvements, such

as the bettering of the harbour and construction of

wharves and piers, will, when once the colony is

fully established, be remitted from goods of Italian

manufacture, and only be levied on foreign articles

of commerce.

In colonizing, the Italians and ourselves have, in

the main, diflFerent objects. They want to create trade

at home by finding a fresh market for it ; we wantmore to find an outlet for our population. As the

climate of the African littoral of the Red Sea makes

it hardly worth our while to keep stations on it

—now that we have managed to let the best oppor-

tunities of opening up trade by the Red Sea slip

through our fingers, as we have shown such an absurd

preference for the Nile route—our best plan for

THE RED SEA. 53

getting our share of the future African trade is to

make the Nile route practicable by rail and water.

This part of Africa has a teeming population, and

these people all want cottons ; whether they have

the means of paying for gay print, coloured beads,

and perfumed hair-oil is another matter. Ivory and

feathers seem abundant enough. Whether these

goods would suit our book, I cannot tell ; but the

people are not like the lazy Malays and Siamese,

they can be taught to work, as the Italians find

;

and, when taught, they do work, and that well.

One can see by the few enclosures and gardens that

the country is worth cultivating; while in some

parts the rich, deep loam might equal in productive

capacity the best alluvial ground in Egypt.

All this railway has been constructed in about

two months. It will soon be opened as far as Saati.

The railway sleepers here are of wood. For tele-

graph poles they use two native spears, spliced with

thongs in the middle. They have both telegraph

and telephone. The Italian plan of campaign is

good : to fortify as they go, and never to get ahead

of their railway. Consequently they have not had

to fight at all, being never taken at a disadvantage,

but always strongest at a given point.

The lengthening shadows of the men show that

the greatest heat is past, otherwise \ve should not

know it. ' See that nigger with a shot-silk sunshade,

and so little on of value to shelter !' said the Duke to

me. Indeed, the man wore drab rags of the scantiest,

though to be dressy was in his nature. Perhaps he

had borrowed the smart parasol.

54 THE RED SEA.

The expected train is retarded three-quarters-of-

an-hoiir ; so our special is delayed. A letter of

apology is sent to the Duke for the delay ; he says

these are the chances of war. We are as well enter-

tained here as we could be anywhere else, and we

have fine mountain scenery to enjoy. A pet regi-

mental monkey is brought to salute us, and cut

capers, and turn somersaults for our amusement.

Some droTnedaries sweep swiftly past us, moving at

great speed. At last the train comes in, loaded

with a company of soldiers, the engineers, and the

band. There is to be a concert at MonkuUo to-

morrow night, to cheer the men. These Italian

soldiers are fine manly fellows, and very glad to

meet each other.

The Italians, twenty thousand men in all, have

just been ordered to begin their forward march,

and they are pouring to the front as rapidly as

the trains can bring them. It is sad to think of

those fine fellows being perhaps most of them dead

before many weeks are over. The enemy are reck-

oned at eighty thousand men, and all good marks-

men. The tragedy of Dogali is still on the mindsof all of us.

There are very small engines on this small line

;

they shriek as loud as bigger ones. ' Pronti ' ! weare oflT. It is dark by the time wc reach Abd-el-Kader.

After this very interesting excursion, we wereglad to rest on board the yacht, sipping cider-cup

in the mild moonlight. With what interest weshall watch the movements of these gallant troops.

They are all in a capital state of preparation.

THE RED liEA. 65

There are perhaps no objects of interest in Masso-

wah itself, but we are glad we put in here ; wehave seen a different life, widening our sympathies.

A young naval officer, Signor Ramognino, from the

admiral's ship, dined with us, as well as Lieutenant

San Marzano. The eagerness of the one officer

made the other half sorry he should not take part

in the action. Before our return—in five months

—

we reflected, it will be settled, one way or the other.

It was frightful to think of eighty thousand savage

warriors rushing upon the camp from these hills.

The picture of the probable result, all ' in one red

burial blent,' sickened me to contemplate. These

skilled officers have taken every precaution, butnumbers are against them, and, worse still, so is

the climate.

A note was brought off again while we were at

dinner ; the lieutenant must be ready to leave us

early, when a boat would be sent for him. They are

all ordered to the front early to-morrow. The enemyis moving forward, gathered in vast numbers on the

hills ready to sweep down in force. Young San

Marzano was again excited, not with wine this time,

he scarcely touched any.

' It is not because we are at table, but because weshall be ordered off to-morrow,' said he.

I thought of the young lady he was engaged to

at Genoa as I saw him fingering his locket ; I wished

him well silently.

His father, the general-in-chief, was very attentive

to us, though he was unable to call in person

because of this sudden pressure. He sent us maps,

66 THE RED SEA.

and Qven ordered ice for us, though it has been

knocked olF the last two days from the officers' al-

lowance, as it is all kept for the hospital and neces-

sity The Duke refused to take it from the sick men.

We are glad for their sakes that a ship with three

thousand tons of ice is coming on Friday. This is

Tuesday. The health of the Italian troops gene-

rally is excellent ; as a winter climate the interior

of the country is considered fine ; very likely it is

so on the hills, though the swamp ground and rot-

ten coral shores of Massowah makes this the un-

healthiest place on the Red Sea. Our troops were

healthy throughout the Abyssinian war. We had

hospital-ships for our men. We find it much cooler

on the yacht than on shore.

The chief risk to health lies in the great tempta-

tion to bathe in the sun, as our men have foolishly

been doing to-day. Next morning, just before weleft Massowah, we heard that an Italian soldier,

bathing, had just had his arm bitten off by a shark.

Happily for Italy, patience, prudence, and pre-

paration have conducted the warfare of this season

to a successful and bloodless end.

57

CHAPTER III.

TO THE FAll EAST.

Ea bas, sur le pont, la foule, les homines entasses a I'ombre des tentes,

haletaient avec accablement. L'eau, I'air, la lumiere avaient pris une

spleudeur morne, ecrasante ; et la fete eternelle de ces choses ctait commeune ironie pour les etres, pour les existences organisees qui sont ephd-

meres.— Pierre Loti.

Off again : no post, and panting Care toils after us

in vain ; not but what there was a telegraphic

cypher prepared for certain contingencies.

We steamed out of the beautiful bay half encir-

cled by mountains of Alpine character, the range

ended by a lofty mountain sloping off at the end of

the Bight of Archico. Coral reefs to port androcky islets to starboard.

The sailors flapped the flies overboard ; so wesoon got rid of that plague. Nowhere have I seen

them so numerous ; not in Egypt, not in the valley

of the Jordan, not in Seville, not in all three to-

gether, and these places I have thought hitherto

the favourite haunts of flies.

Lappj'^, the dog, had his hair cut ; he looked cooler,

but ludicrously ashamed of himself, with only a

shoulder-cape left and a tuft at the tip of his tail.

58 TO THE FAR EAST.

We were out again in the seething blue sea, send-

ing up its fountains of sparkling foam, and flj^ng-

fish fell in such numbers on the deck that we ate

them for breakfast, and very good and delicate they

were. Next d&j the rugged coast-line of the RedSea closed us in on both sides, wild, rugged, conical

peaks rising on both horizons, and then came the

desolate hills round Mocha. We had a heavy sick-

list on board, chiefly caused, it was thought, by the

men bathing in the heat of the sun at Massowah.

On December 30th we saw the lofty, rocky coast

of Yemen, with heavy clouds above the high table-

land of the interior, and rugged, tortuous, peaked

rocks and islands all volcanic. Beyond the rocks a

low, sandy shore begins, with a dim, distant back-

ground of table-land cropping up into peaks occa-

sionally. A large, rugged peninsula, looking like

an islet, made of sharp, comb-like ridges of rock

deeply serrated against the sky comes into view onthe starboard quarter—^it is Aden.

There are some races on, and the yarn runs that

nobody is left in the town but the post-master andthe telegraph-boy. We get our letters and the

papers, full, as usual, of what we have not beendoing. Diving-boy to our captain, 'I don't love

you many very well,' when he threw him a brokensaucer to dive for. Funny little brown, woolly-

headed, grinning fellows in their small, hollowed

timber tubs of boats, which they paddle, or upset,

or jump out of, and do what they like with, all the

while looking up at the steamers, and grinning andcrying ' Have a dive '—abbreviation of ' heave for a

TO THE FAR EAST. 69

dive.' They readily find threepenny bits and half-

quarter rupees at a depth of several fathoms. As

the flags are hauled down at gunfire, a large steamer,

full of soldiers in British uniform, came round and

cheered the Sans Peurha&vtWj] to this day we do not

know why, but it Was pleasant.

The Parsee shipping-agent and his servants bring

fruit and flowers on board and a large bag of genuine

Mocba coffee as presents ; and Somali mats and

coloured round baskets, with pointed covers, are

brought for sale. We were large buyers until some

experienced person told us not to spend our moneyhere as we should get so much better things in

India.

Bertha, the Swiss maid, is making herself cool cot-

ton dresses, and bemoans her ill fate that she has 'no

sewing-machine, no Tommy (dummy), no nosing.'

' No Tommy ?' says the steward, inquiringly.

'It is a ship ' (shape) ' to hang the clotheses

on.'

Steward, still mystified, and rather severely,

'We have no room for Tommies on board.'

The sick men are recovering sufficiently to havesongs, and send up rockets for New Year's Eve.

The Duke went to a consular official dinner at

Government House on Sunday, New Year's Day

;

and on the 2nd of January the Governor gave a

ball and a dinner-party in his honour. Mr. Henley,

the Peninsular and Oriental agent, gave us the

kindest hospitality while the yacht was coaling, &c.

as most of us were not up to enjoying the liveliness of

Government House. We soon sailed for Marmagoa.

60 ro THE FAR EAST.

' Are you really going all that distance in the

yacht ?' is the question of everybody.

We had really made up our minds so to do, and

why not ? The Sans Peur, six hundred tons, is no

cockle-shell.

'Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll I

A thousand sweeps fleet over thee in vain.'

Our luminous reflections on the grandeur of the

ocean and the rest of our poetry are of too serious

and metaphysical a nature to enter into a light

work of this kind ; for the present they must remain

locked in the beautiful clasped albums that wenaturally carried with us for the reception of such

sublime ideas. This should have been by far the

finest chapter of this book, and I cannot tell how it

is that it has been left inedited. I cannot for the life

of me think why;goodness knows there was time

for no end of fine writing, yet the opportunity was

lost.

Sunday, January 16th.—We were promised the

sight of land for early this morning, and felt

aggrieved when it was not to be seen. What was

the use of our getting up so early ?

At 10 a.m. the captain on the bridge, with a

powerful glass, declares he can see ' the loom of it.'

' The loom. What is that ? The outline ?'

' Yes, the outline.'

' I should like to see the outline of India ; an

outline on a grand scale, that,' I thought, as I

hastened up on the bridge to take my share of the

sight. The captain's glass suits his eye only, for

none of us can see anything but blue sea. By-and-

TO THE FAR EAST 61

by the Duke cries, 'A branch of bamboo, that looks

like land.' We feel like Columbus's companions,

and rouse ourselves languidly; the bamboo is past,

a weary look at the east shows no outline or loom,

of land to us. I fling myself down and plunge into

the ' Cruise of the Marchesa ' once more. Landdid appear before the evening of that day : we saw

the red cliffs and intensely green vegetation of the

Indian coast in the mouths of the rivers round the

islet of old Goa ; the tiny castle on the cliff-side

eclipsed by the flag-staff, the cliffs themselves well-

nigh eclipsed by the strong new breakwater built

at Marmagoa, which is in future quite to eclipse old

Goa harbour, if not old Goa itself, and new Goa or

Panjim, to boot. The Portuguese governor, a naval

officer, in full fig, came on board to call on the Duke,

and in re-entering his boat his spurs (!) caught in

one of the cross seats and he tumbled in head fore-

most. We politely looked another way, and absorbed

ourselves in the catching of some opal-grey semi-

transparent fish, and some with canary-coloured

tails, neither of which looked eatable. We did not

try them at this time, but the latter sort we bought

and ate on our return, when we had better appetite.

Several excursions were made to Goa, visiting the

five Portuguese churches, dating from the end of

the sixteenth-century, and the relics of St. Francis

Xavier, whose life we had all been reading—and a

perfect life it is !—and seeing the old houses where

oyster-shells are used in the windows instead of

panes of glass. I was ill, I had been so ever since I

left Massowah, and was unable to do more than

62 TO THE FAR EAST.

CQvy the others, and let myself be carried up in a

doolie to the Traveller's Bungalow on the hill. The

air is so much fresher up here, and one escapes the

coaling. The pathway up is lined with most vivid

verdure of strange trees ; it is as if all nature were

painted in unmitigated emerald green ; it would not

come well into a picture, people would exclaim,

' How unnatural !' I suppose it is the intensity of

the light appearing through the translucency of the

leaves, as well as the sunlight developing a vast

amount of chlorophyll. Explain it as one may, it

is unnatural, there is a boat greenishness about the

foliage in this and some few other places in the

tropics where there is red or orange-brown soil that

makes it like the foliage one sees at the theatre.

Still it is refreshing to look at after many days at sea.

The hill-top here is a wide level from whence one can

see sunset and sunrise, and a fine view over land and

sea. Glimpses of blue sea shine up through every

break in the foliage far below, soothing and beauti-

ful, the coast-line rippling with wave-like hills

stretching out opposite beyond the bay, the land-

scape peopled with fine dark figures wrapped in

transparent muslins of many colours, their dark

skins smoothly polished like bronze. No one here

speaks a word of English. The doctor coming upfrequently to look after my welfare puzzles them a

good deal with his orders.

The bungalow is meant for travellers who bring

their own provisions ; it supplies beds, baths, soda-

water, tables and chairs, and cane lounges of all

kinds in the verandah. Some one up here keeps

TO TEE FAR EAST. 63

ducks, nice fat ones too. I lived upon duck ex-

clusively, and the Duke sent me up wine from the

yacht. Marmagoa, being a new settlement, is ill

provided with market produce. The engineers of

the new line kindly sent me milk in a soda-water

bottle. As they kept cows, they lent us milk each

day ; we called it lending, because in no other waycould the transaction have been made. The only

milk the steward could buy was buffalo milk, and

that in very small quantity.

'Haven't you got any beef?' asked Herries,

querulously, of a fine man in pink muslin command-

ing a boat-load of empty baskets.

' Yes, sare;young beef, sare.'

It was buffalo veal.

' Come weal, come woe,' says Herries, groaning.

My great loss was the sight of the romantic

scenery on the new line of railway as far as

Dhdrwdr, whence it goes on to Bellary, where it

joins the main line to Madras. The Duke and I

had been very eager to travel over this line, which

his Grace is deeply interested in. This new part

of the line was not yet open, but it could be

travelled over by trollies, and the chief engineer

kindly sent for a saloon carriage for my use as an

invalid. The plan had been for us to cross India

from Marmagoa to Madras, while the yacht wentround by Ceylon; and much I longed to cross

India, the Italy of Asia.

We heard the engineers talk of the wild charms

of Castle Rock, and the fine scenery of the ghauts;

and when I saw Herries got up like a complete

64 TO THE FAR EAST.

sportsman, and the whole party setting off in the

spirit of adventure, I felt it hard that I could only

look on. The captain said sympathisingly to me,

' You know what the yacht is, but you don't know

the other journey.' Lady Clare was very anxious for

me to go, but the doctor strongly advised my not at-

tempting it, as the engineers' bungalow at Castle Rock

was ten miles from the rail, and only to be reached

on horseback, and the ladies would have perforce

to sleep in the train. The engineers said it would be

madness for me to try to go by rail, as there are as yet

no stations nor preparations for travellers, and the

country was all savage rocks or jungle, with not a

civilized house before Dharwdr, at the end of the

second day's journey. They were exerting them-

selves to get all ready for the opening of the line at

the end of the month, and had sent orders to Bom-

bay to supply the ceremonial feast, when Lord and

Lady Reay were to ' inaugurate ' the line with its

terminus and port at Marmagoa. By-and-by this

will be an important place, as, besides opening up

Central India to the west, it will take the quick

traffic of Madras, and probably much of that of

Calcutta. They set off on the expedition, and I

was carried down in a doolie to the yacht, just halt-

ing to gather some branches of a very striking

white-tasselled flower growing by the winding path.

The engineers sent me flowers for the yacht, and

everyone in Marmagoa seemed to wish to make mecomfortable.

While they are washing the anchor and weighing

it, which takes time, for we carry one hundred

TO THE FAR EAST. 66

fathoms of anchor-chain, which weighs four tons, I

make acquaintance with the new happy family on

board. Besides my old fellow-travellers, the Lap-

land dog, and Jacko the monkey from St. Kitts, and

the rabbits, there was a new monkey on board, and

there were two piglets, the funniest things, like

miniature wild boars, sitting habitually in an atti-

tude like the Florentine wild boar in bronze, and

two melancholy kids from Marmagoa, too thin to

live, or even to be slain for an}^ useful purpose.

We had lovely weather for steaming down the

Indian coast, and the captain was able to carry us

close in shore, so that we had a fine view of the red

coast-line of Travancore and the lofty chain of the

southern Ghauts. I did not lose all the sights and

tropical wonders by coming this way, for on Sun-

day, January 22nd, I saw from the bridge, as I sat

up there as usual for an hour or so before sundown,

a large luminous serpentine form, which rose slowly

out of the water in two large curves (like two arches

of a low bridge), letting me see distinctly the large

diaper pattern marked on the flattened silvery sides

of a huge snake. I had my note-book in my hand,

and rapidly sketched off its markings and its out-

66 TO THE FAR EAST.

line, as much as I could see of it on and under the

water. The great size and luminousness of the crea-

ture were its chief characteristics, besides the flat-

tened sides ; I could not see either extremity, nor do

I remember distinguishing any fins, but the curves I

saw were, as I judged, together about half as long

again as our deck-house, and I saw it at about two

hundred yards off. No one was on the bridge at

the time ; I often had it to myself at that hour ; I

called to Mr. Butters, but by the time he came the

creature had disappeared, which was unlucky for me.

The captain told me large sea-serpents were not un-

common in this part of the Indian Ocean. My ownconviction is that thiswas the sea-serpent, which I hadhitherto looked upon as fabulous ; the best authen-

ticated case I had hitherto known was the sea-ser-

pent seen at Haulbowline, which turned out to be a

long lawyer from Cork taking a swim. Since then

I have been told of what I believe to be genuinecases, the most convincing being one seen in Scot-

land, off Dunrobin Castle, where the Duke of Suther-

land's secretary and the minister of the parish andhis family all saw what they affirm to be the greatsea-serpent. My sea-serpent story is true, ' true as

taxes is, and nothing's truer than them.' *

For all this excitement the sea-passage, thoughrestful, was monotonous in addition to the longswim from Aden to Marmagoa ; the heat was great,

the crimson flame of sunrise over India, the dazzlingfiery light looking as if ready to devour and con-sume the land, gave one at times a feeling of abso-

* Note B, Appendix.

TO THE FAR EAST. 67

lute awe, almost of horror. The month was weari-

somely lono;. Spin, spin, oh gldhe, spin round and

round ; twirl, dervish globe, and bring us quickly

out of this horrid torrid zone !

The meals were monotonous, of course ; the bill

of fare is not large in the tropics ; it is fowls every

day, chick, chick, chick, chick, always ; and such

fowls !—tiny yet tough as shoe-strings, though the

Duke's chef is able to explain that away if anybody

can. Our experienced steward having gone over-

land to Madras, we were badly found, as Herries

had thought to the last that all of us were going

by rail, and as was hardly in any case to be helped

after the long voyage, for nothing could be got at

Marmagoa, no fresh fish, no meat, and many of the

tinned provisions had gone bad, burst, and been

thrown overboard, causing a smell and a scarcity.

The milk, such as it was, genuine juice of the buffalo,

and the ice had come to an end ; a large quantity

of provision goes bad just as soon as less if there is

no ice to keep it in. There is next to nothing left

to cook ; soon I fear ' we must eat we ;' I said so,

and put on a fiercely hungry look. The captain said

blandly he was most willing to oblige in any way. It

appeared we had eaten the toughest of the captain's

mutton already, and every roast duck consumed on

board had been his. I sharpened the paper-knife

ominously, and drew the blade across my finger. No,

fat Joe must be eaten first, I reflected, and refrained.

The look-out men reported the sight of Adam's

Peak—and none too soon ; it saved Joe's life. Ofthe piglets, one had died, the other had already

f2

68 TO THE FAR EAST

been killed, ' to save its life'

; the sylph-like kids

and the rabbits had disappeared, whither I know-

not. The captain had no roast ducks left. But

later in the day nothing was to be seen of Ceylon;

it was wrapped in the white mountain clouds.

We had not long to wait. Before us was the low-

land of Ceylon , a white strip ofshore, with green trees,

and moderately high hills rising behind them, a town

and wharfs, and plenty of shipping. Cingalese, with

shiny hair held back by round combs, in rickety ' cata-

marans,' flocked round the yacht all clamouring. It

was just touch and go at Colombo. After taking in

provisions and coals, we weighed anchor, and steamed

round the island, whose hills look low after the

southern Ghauts. Point de Galle is a pleasant-

looking place, large and white, set in groves of

coco-palms, with a background of blue hills. Wealways kept well within sight of Ceylon. What a

wilderness of coco-nut forests ! Clouds veil the

high lands of the interior.

The Dutch system of forced labour caused the

planting of coco-nut-palms along this western coast,

which, 'so late as 1740, was described by Governor

van Imhoff as waste land, to be surveyed anddivided among the people, who were bound to plant

it up. At the end of last century, when the British

superseded the Dutch in the possession of the

maritime provinces of Ceylon, the whole of the

south-western coast presented the unbroken grove

of palms which is seen to this day.' * In sailing

* J. Feeguson.—^The only vestiges of Dutch rule remaining in the

island.

TO THE FAR EAST. 69

up the eastern side of Ceylon, the profile of the

mountains on this side shows the Monk's Hood as

a marked outline ; and as we proceed the hills at

a distance look like a succession of monks' hoods

coining on like waves. The world, as seen from

on board ship, is made up of sea and outlines, or

profiles of the land.

We anchored at Madras early on Friday, the 27th

of January. The pier and breakwater built round

the port exclude the famous surf; so the palmy

days of the catamarans are past. We hear the

Duke is staying somewhere about five miles from

here. The captain went off to report the yacht's

arrival. I long to hear their adventures. Herries

came on board. He looked sadly pulled-down from

the dandy sportsman who started from Marmagoa.

He weighed something like twenty stone when weleft Brindisi ; his weight now, he said, with a melan-

choly air, was under seventeen stone. He had had

a touch of fever.

' Any tigers ?'

' Only one tiger, ma'am. I saw the tail of him,

and I ran ; leastways, it couldn't have been less

than a cheetah.'

' Scenery ?'

' I didn't see any scenery ; it was all rocks andjungle.'

He was evidently fastidious in his tastes. Hewent off to look after his subordinates, and he blew

them up roundly.

It is strange to contrast the dashing Herries whowent off to the hills in such a jaunty manner, in

70 TO THE FAR EAST.

dazzling mufti, with his gun, and poetry in his

heart, and the forlorn Herries who returned, fever-

stricken, to the yacht, with bad language on his lips.

The journey across India does not seem to have

been an unalloyed pleasure. Herries would not do

it again for any money.

The Duke and Lady Clare came on board about

noon. They were staying Avith her brother, a leading

barrister at Madras, and his wife, at their large

house, a little way out of Madras. I had been

invited to stay there too, but when I heard Mr.

Michell's youngest child had died on the very day

of Lady Clare's arrival, and the baby's funeral was

this morning, I felt I could not intrude upon the

sorrowing parents ; and I stayed on board the yacht.

This sad event damped the pleasure of the whole

family upon Lady Clare's arrival.

We now heard more about the journey. There

did not seem much of interest to record beyond

Bertha's fright at seeing what she called a cobra

in Lady Clare's room at Dhdrwdr; she described

it as having four rudimentary legs and a bushy tail.

This turned out to be a squirrel ; but the terror

it caused was equal to a real cobra. Dhdrwdr wasa pleasant rest after the hardships of Castle Rock(which was a rock without a castle) ; but the bunga-low at Dhdrwdr could not accommodate the wholeparty with beds, so most of them were accommo-dated with mats, which are—ahem !—coolness itself;

and being high-hill country, they found it cold with

no blankets. The special trains could not wait, as

it was expected they would do ; so most of the party

TO THE FAR EAST. 71

got no luncheon, only the experienced Hemes caught

up a fowl, and rushed off with it, and a bottle of

claret under his arm, as they sped to the train.

Worst of all, none of the party had any money.

Herries had none left; the Duke had forgotten to

bring his cheque-book ; Lady Clare had none. So,

while ordering special trains galore, they laughingly

said they begged their way across India.

The bills came in afterwards, though. How true

it is that there is something altogether unpleasant

in the misfortunes of one's friends. I chuckled in-

wardly at having seen as much as they, and bragged

about the sea-serpent, a story which I could get

none of them to take at par. A black man styling

himself 'Lord High Admiral of Her Majesty's

catamarans ' has come on board, in a patched coat

and battered cocked hat. He shakes hands with us

all round, gets our signatures to his testimonials,

also half-a-sovereign out of the Duke. ' I can't think

what in the world for,' says his Grace. Rupees

being known to be changing hands like this, numer-

ous articles for sale and barter were pushing off in

boats to the yacht ; but now the advice was, ' Don't

buy much at Madras, you will find things of so

much greater interest at Singapore.' A stuffed

parrot-fish, bottle-shaped, with a bird-like beak,

looking very much like a made-up article, though it

was genuine, is bought and hung in the deck-house

till it can be placed in the museum at Dunrobin.

The doctor ordered a victoria for me to drive to

the botanical gardens, which are open at five p.m.

To . avoid the slippery steps of the pier, we went

72 TO THE FAR EAST.

ashore iii a lai'ge surf-boat. The men carried the

doctor ashore on their backs ; I was seated on a

board and lifted ashore that way. The gardens

cover eighteen acres ; their leading feature is the

forest trees, though these are of no great size. The

bauhinias with the double leaves, typifying the two

Bauhin brothers, were interesting as well as fine

trees. It was curious to me seeing outdoor hot-

houses, only sheltered and shaded against wind and

too fierce sunshine.

We drove round by where the band plays of an

afternoon, by way of a river, bridges, and moregardens (Madras is for the most part made of

gardens), and thence back to the port by way of

the ' Black Town,' and bazaars which look gay andtheatrical when lighted up.

A party of ladies came on board the Sans Pewto tea.

We stayed several days at Madras, which is not,

however, a very interesting place. During our stay

was held the great native festival consequent on the

total eclipse of the moon. A fine procession with

nautch-girls, specially educated for the temple ser-

vices, covered with costly jewels and bearing wreathsof flowers. These dancing-girls are very graceful

and elegant, and of a highly superior class to theordinary nautch-girls. This festival lasted through-out the following day, beginning early in the morn-ing with a great public washing in the surf.

The Duke invited Mrs. Brooke Michell to makethe journey to Siam with us. Mr. Michell thoughtthe six weeks' trip would do her good, and advo-

TO THE FAR EAST. 73

cated her going with us ; but, having lost her pretty

baby, she half-feared to leave her little boy, nowbecome doubly precious. I hear we are to put in at

Johore, as an invitation has been received by the

Duke from the Sultan of Johore. The stores are all

on board, a plentiful supply, with ice enough to

make the fish and flesh keep for a long time. Alot of bananas hanging up near the foremast gives a

tropical look to the ship.

Mr. and Mrs. Brooke Michell came on board to

lunch and say farewell. As Lady Clare and her

sister-in-law were driving down to the pier with the

Duke, the carriage horses ran away,- a rein broke,

and the native coachman was flung out into the

road. The Duke scrambled from his seat on to the

box, took the only rein, and guided the horses

against a wall to stop their mad career ; they broke

a lamp-post, and that was all, the carriage was not

much injured, and its occupants were safe ; but it

was a moment of considerable danger.

We left Madras in the afternoon of the 30th of

January, keeping up a good speed, which never

slackened day nor night, filling us with what Loti

calls 'La notion d'un eloignement efiroyable qui

augmentait toujours.' Siam seemed still so far off"

that India felt quite homely in comparison. Thedeck-house was arranged as a sleeping cabin for

Lady Clare and myself, the curtains and beds being

removed by day.

Atmospheric effects Avere nearly all that we hadto see in crossing the Bay of Bengal ; we sat on the

bridge to watch the sunset—nearly always the

7-1 TO THE FAR EAST.

tamest of spectacles—and the moon-rise, and Magel-

lan's cloud, a nebula supposed to be vertical over

the Straits of Magellan, as the pole star is over the

North Pole.

Poor Jacko died, the West Indian monkey that

we all loved. We were so sorry to lose the brightest

thing on board the ship. Twenty of the green

parrots belonging to the men flew overboard. These

birds are put in slight bamboo cages, and easily eat

their way out. In the afternoon of the 3rd of

February the high land of one of the Nicobar Islands

was visible, and on the 4th we passed between a

lofty island, wooded all over, called Pulo Way, and

the town of Acheen on Sumatra, whose broken

undulations rise gradually into a fine conical hill

called the Golden Mountain, in form like Vesuvius,

but more than double the height of the Italian

volcano ; with a low green slope stretched out to its

base like the Schattenberg under Mount Pilatus.

Sumatra then trends away to the westward, and welose sight of land.

' Here's a boat-load of shipwrecked sailors ; wemust rescue them.' We were all eager for some

excitement, shipwrecked sailors were just what

would suit us. The Duke went below to fetch his

gun—we stared ; did his Grace think they were

pirates ? I do not know that we should have objected

to pirates, anything for a change. We eyed themeagerly with the glasses—it was a banana stumpladen with boobies. It looked just like a boat-load

of sailors. The Duke fired two shots, but the birds

were gone. We looked somewhat like boobies too.

TO THE FAR EAST. 75

The sea here was very phosphorescent, all full of

sparkles and lines of green fire breaking from the

bow. ' Breakers ahead,' called out the seaman on

watch at the bow ; again we all flew to the glasses,

night-glasses this time, and soon we passed a phos-

phorescent mass that smelt ill and exploded. At

sea in the tropics more than ever does one feel night

to be as Jean Paul calls it ' the great shadow and

profile ' (silhouette) ' of day.' The Southern Cross,

the North Star, and the Plough were all on view at

once, Orion too, of course ; but like a man of

fashion he is seen everywhere. The perspective of

the Plough is flattened, the constellation is altogether

out of drawing ; but its seven stars are no larger

than we see them at home. The upper and lower

stars of the Cross are pointers to the South Pole.

Tennyson and other poets who have not been in the

tropics may sing of ' larger constellations burning,

mellow moons and happy skies,' and mislead the

public, but the further I go I see there is in reality

very little difference in the general aspect of the

stars between our skies and those of the tropics,

and what little there may be is in favour of the

north, and so said everyone out there

—

who did not

write hooks—though I find people speak differently

when they come home.

The time the stars looked largest to me Avas on that

cold December evening when we arrived at Brindisi

—and the one peculiarity I saw was the crescent of

Hesperus as I saw it in the Red Sea ; but that the

Morning Star was observed to be wonderfully andunusually bright at about the same time in England

76 TO THE FAR EAST

is attested by the numerous letters written to the

papers on this phenomenon. It is a popular fallacy to

suppose that the stars in the south look different from

the stars as we see them : it is only that we look at

them much on board ship, and gush over them very

much on our return from abroad. We think weought to see things as described, and so we cheat

ourselves into the fancy that we do. It is the per-

spective of the constellations that is altered.

If I am scouted as one who tries to see the prosaic

side of everything by destroying poetical illusions

and making the beautiful ideals glide away, I knowthe cause of poetry is not furthered by ignoring

truth, and we are less likely to see the beauties that

are if we are always trying to see those that are

not.

The sea-serpent is no illusion, but a vast andluminous fact.

February 6th.—Out two months to-day. Thecoast of the Malay peninsula visible all day, with

low foreground shores and high land in the interior.

We have now, this afternoon, green sea and a

purple land.

The low green islets and broken, but gentle, sort

of scenery seen on approaching Singapore reminds

me more of Sweden than anywhere else. Soon the

island scenery becomes more home-like ; it is not

oriental, but in this cool breeze one could almost

fancy oneself steaming near the Plymouth coast.

' Which will your Grace like to go in at, the

Peninsular and Oriental wharf, or the harbour ?'

' Oh, the harbour at first, I think.'

TO TEE FAR EAST. 77

' Up with the flag,' shouts our captain, and the

long swim is over.

Now appear long lines of warehouses at Singa-

pore, and the spire of a church more home-like still,

and now we are swinging at anchor out in the

breezy harbour.

Mr. Cobham, one of Her Majesty's commissioners

in Cyprus, whom the Duke had invited to travel

with him, came on board with his friend, Mr. Swan,

the engineer who was to accompany his Grace to

Siam to consider the country for the proposed rail-

way there. These two gentlemen had made friends

with each other at Singapore, and found by chance

that they were both waiting for the same person.

It is true he was a big person, and they were not

likely to miss him. The Duke was glad to welcome

Mr. Swan and have some engineering talk about

Malaya.

In travel the Duke is always on the look-out to

see if comparison with other countries can offer

any suggestions of improvements in our existing

machinery, or if the application of English capital

can benefit a colony or further British influence

abroad. The Duke, a conscientious landlord, always

puts his enforced exile to profit for self-instruction,

and, chiefly, to benefit his people by the hints he

gathers. This is a thing that the workers cannot

do for themselves. It requires leisure and capital.

Dukes, it seems to me, are more necessary now than

ever ; dux in war formerly—now leaders of peace.

Mr. Cobham had, on his outward journey (after

attending the marriage of his niece in India), been

78 TO THE FAR EAST.

travelling through India and Burmah. Darjeeling

was the finest place he had seen ; he was never tired

of expatiating on the magnificence of its scenery.

Being in the diplomatic service, his rank was less

fully understood by some of the less experienced

port authorities in the far-east than if he had been

a general officer or a naval captain. At one place

the officer in command at the port, ' a thorough good

fellow,' who took to Mr. Cobham at once, showing

him about and wanting to pay him all due honours,

said, heartily,

' I don't know how many guns you are entitled

to, but, by Jove, as many as you cboose to ask for,

you shall have.'

Ranking with an admiral, he was entitled to a

salute of thirteen guns.

We are invited to a ball on board H.M.S. Orion

to-night, and hospitality is ofi^ered us at Government

House ; but the Duke thinks, as we are making but

a short stay at Singapore, we bad better be inde-

pendent and remain on board the yacht.

The Sultan of Johore is away on the hill at Pe-

nang, so it is as well we did not propose to stop at

Johore until our return. The season is advancing,

and the sooner we are at Bangkok the better.

People here are very hospitable, we have several

other invitations. A steam-launch is to come for us

at one o'clock, that we may be taken to see the town

of Singapore ; but what a frightful time of day for

pleasuring just under the equator !

We lunched at the Raffles Hotel, where a Malay

luncheon had been ordered for us. Mr. Swan, who

TO THE FAR EAST. 79

knew Malayan customs, told us what to choose and

how to eat it, and peeled mangosteens for us.

After this we went shopping with a couple of

carriages at our heels, curio-hunting among the

divers inferior Chinese shops near the club. Mr.

Cobham, who is a connoisseur, hinted we had better

not waste our money on this trash, which is to be

had just as good and as cheap in London. ' At

Siam we shall find curios and novelties,' he said. It

seemed as if things worth bujdng fled before us at

every port.

There is one good Japanese and Chinese shop in

Singapore, and presently Mr. Swan took us there.

A yarn was brought down to us of an inhabitant to

his friend from San Francisco, breaking off his talk

on business

:

'The Duke, come along and see the Duke.'

' Dook, dook be d d, what's that ?'

The New Worldling could not take into his

mind what sort of modern improvement that could

be.

We went to the Cricket Club pavilion, where wehad tea in an upper verandah overlooking the long

green, which has the sea rolling in on one side, and

on the other hand are the cathedral, and lines of large

villa-residences and public buildings all set in green-

ery. Here on the short, fine turf the game of cricket

was being played as energetically as in England.

This upset my preconceived notions of the tropics ; to

wit, the Zoo at large, roaming about in the palm-stove

at Kew—magnified—or in the Botanical Gardens in

the Regent's Park. I perceived this would have to be

80 TO THE FAR EAST.

modified. This reminds me that we next drove to

the pretty Botanic Gardens here, and round by the

populous and amusing China town ; all set in as

strange and foreign vegetation as any in the Botanic

Gardens themselves. It was at Singapore that

I had really my first sight of tropical vegetation,

for I saw little of India's, luxuriance; it is, as

Darwin says, like a visit to a new planet—a newheaven and a new earth, one sometimes feels it to be.

The wealth and novelty of flowers and palms, right-

ly called by Linnaeus princes of the vegetable king-

dom, and aU the splendour of the equatorial sap.

The coco-nut, the areca, and the sugar-palm struck

us with admiration, and we viewed with curiosity

the Singapore Licuale palm, which we already knewin the dried state as the Penang lawyer. Most

striking of all, perhaps, is the well-known traveller's

tree, or pilgrim's palm, as it is called, from Mada-gascar, which is not a palm at all, but allied to the

plantains ; it takes its name from having a receptacle

for water at the foot of each broad leaf that forms its

stately fan. This fluid is drinkable, but it is generally

full of ants and other small insects.

The streets and roads, even in the Chinese quar-

ter, all have English names, clearly written up onsignposts, or on blue labels as in France andEngland. This China town swarms like an ant-hill

with the yellow race, who appear industrious to the

last degree. Chinamen here are always carrying loads

in their pairs of baskets, or pails, slung on a bambooacross the shoulders. Exception : when not busily

carrying about something, they are being shaved.

TO THE FAR EAST. 81

There are plenty of jinrickshas, or 'rickshas as they

call them here, a sort of small, gaily-paiuted hansom

cab drawn by a man between the shafts ; these are all

drawn by Chinamen, some of them extremely fine

men, often admirable models for a worker in bronze.

They run up hill or down, often drawing a family-

jam of Chinese father, mother, a lot of children, and

sometimes their aunts and uncles as well. The

roads are admirable here in Singapore, and, being a

small island, of course distances are not great ; but

it is surprising what weights these 'ricksha men will

draw, the distances they will run, and their amazing

endurance. Major KnoUys says he knew two of

these coolies run about sixty miles in less than thir-

teen hours, drawing a load of nearly three hundred-

weight, and this on a bad road. They are said to

suffer much from heart-disease ; we cannot wonder

at it.

The 'ricksha is so cheap a conveyance that it

successfully competes with the tramway, which is

laid down round the level coast road from the

principal steam wharfs to the farther end of the

town. The Chinese are very fond of travelling

by 'ricksha, while they will not afford themselves

a ride in a gharry, a sort of tropical ' growler ' with

jalousie blinds. Lastly, we drove to the Peninsular

and Oriental wharf, whither the yacht had been

taken round to coal ; and, the coaling already over,

she now lay alongside the wharf in an arm of the

sea. We took in very little coal, as our object was

to be light enough to float over the bar at the

mouth of the Menam river in Siam. Natives with

G

82 TO THE FAR EAST.

boat-loads of beautiful shells, and the red musical

coral of the Indian Ocean, for sale, came flocking

round the yacht. Fruits too were brought on

board. We relished the mangosteens, the favourite

fruit in the far-east. One eats the soft, white

inside pulp, that is like a snowball divided in about

half-a-dozen sections, leaving the purple husk that

one at first supposes to be the fruit, and the red pith

which is not good. A basket of the fruit called

' dukos ' was sent as a present. This fruit, though

prized, is not equal to the mangosteen.

After dinner, Mr. Geiger, the Peninsular andOriental agent, came with a large steam-launch to

convey us to the ball on board H.M.S. Orion. Theship was tastefully decorated with flags and tropical

plants, almost concealing the great guns. Captain

Royse was extremely attentive, and showed us all

over this magnificent ironclad. The popping of

corks in the ward-room was as heavy as a cannonade.

A newspaper reporter came early on board the SansFeur, wanting to interview the Duke of Sutherland.

' You can't see him now ; his Grace is in bed,' theytold him.

' Oh I I don't mind that in the least,' was the

eager reply.

'We do,' said the steward, emphatically.

Lady Clementi Smith, the very agreeable wife ofthe Governor of the Straits Settlements, sat by methe whole evening, and pointed out the celebrities,

Chinese and otherwise, to me. Sir Cecil ClementiSmith invited the Duke and his party to lunch at

Government House next day.

TO THE FAR EAST. 83

At one o'clock p.m., Major Massey came down to

the wharf with the governor's carriage, with serv-

ants wearing turbans and fanciful scarlet liveries,

to take us to Government House, which is finely

situated on a hill at some distance out of the town.

There was an army of servants, many of them in

white muslin, with red head-dresses and girdles, on

the steps to receive us. For dessert we partook of

a remarkable selection of strange fruits, among thema fruit looking like a small potato with the skin on,

with the pulp tasting like moist sugar—this has

black flat seeds ; another looking like a large prickly

arbutus, the edible part like blancmange—in appear-

ance, when peeled, it is like a plover's Qgg; and

several others. Most of these fruits are like poor

relations of the mangosteen. Sir Cecil Smith is

fond of botany, and enjoys cultivating the fine

gardens of Government House. We went out to

look at a yellow-blossomed tree, with flowers grow-

ing directly out of the stem, the thick bark-stem

of the large tree. It is supposed to be a jonesia.

This curious tree was not in flower when Miss North

stayed here for two busy months, painting.

Government House is an Italian palace, com-

manding an extensive view all round, reminding

me of the view from Harrow-on-the-Hill, painted in

tropical tints ; it has the same aerially blue distances

covered with multitudinous vegetation. Mr. Cob-

ham smiled, as much as to say, ' Ah ! if youhave not seen Darjeeling, you have seen nothing.'

To see the coloured caladiums growing freely as if

they were buttercups in the grass, was to me one of

G 2

8k TO THE FAR EAST.

the most wonderful things in the vegetation. I

did not like to put my foot down on them—they

are valuable at home. I felt like my own little

boy did, when he used to step carefully between

the ferns on Hampstead Heath. When the after-

noon cooled a little, we took two carriages, and

drove to the reservoir, a pretty artificial lake with

raised borders with paths on them and plane-tree

isles reflected clear ; and then to the house of a

rich Chinaman, Sia Liang Sia, Avho had invited us

to tea. He spoke English perfectly, but he was

thoroughly a Chinese, although, curiously enough,

he had never yet been in China. He knew Europe

well. He smiled as we sat by the table, with the

smile that was childlike and bland, to see us enjoy

our tea—^a very pale-coloured liquid— it was ' a

dream.' There were dishes of curious confectionery,

and all the fruits of the country arranged with

flowers, ferns, and, above all, roses. Singapore is

too hot for roses to bloom well, but, as Sia Liang

Sia said, a Chinaman cannot exist without roses,

so he sends to the Flowery Land for fresh rose-

bushes every year. Chinamen cannot exist without

fish-ponds either, and tiny ornamental bridges, andgeneral mllow-pattern landscape gardening ; so hehas all of these, and open-worked traceried screens

painted in white and pale porcelain colours all over

his house as partitions to the rooms, with the fewsolid wall spaces hung with the Japanese pictures

called Kakemonos, making the whole house oneveiled aerial perspective set with flowers all aboutthe open courts and pathways. Here he sits, in

TO THE FAR EAST. 85

azure silk raiment, and amuses himself and his

friends with fishing for fat carp from his windows,

and feeding them with dozens of slices of bread.

The green land beyond the blue channel where

the yacht lies looks cool and refreshing with its

dense foliage feathering to the water's edge, shading

the shore ' whose shining sand,' as Camoens says,

' is painted with red shells from Venus' hand'

;

the bat's-wing junk sails of Chinese vessels, and

white and brown British sails gliding along between

the trees. For all its rich, ruddy tint, the soil is

poor at Singapore, though land has increased ten

times in value here in the last ten years ; but the

Liberian cofi'ee thrives fairly well in the plantations.

The branches, with their white orange-blossom-like

flowers, clusters of berries, and large, bay-like leaves,

are fragrant and delightful.

We waited for the mail, and before leaving Singa-

pore we read in the Straits Times of the 6th of

February that the Italian army in Abyssinia had

arrived at Saati. So the rail is made thereto ; weAvere glad to hear our friends were safe so far. Nowwe are ready to resume our ' meanderings,' and say

' Au revoir ' to the ' Lion City,' Avhich is its namein Malay ; the name Singapore in Hindustani means' Place of meeting, or of waiting,' from its good

harbour.

86

CHAPTER IV.

A ROYAL CREMATION.

Droops the heavy-blossom 'd bower, hangs the heavy-fruited tree

—

Summer isles of Eden lying in dark purple spheres of sea.

There methinks would be enjoyment more than in this march of mind,

In the steamship, in the railway, in the thoughts that shake mankind,

Tennyson.

As early as last October we had heard that we might

possibly arrive in Bangkok in time to witness the

cremation of a princess. We wondered how this

could be. Was she given over by the doctors, or was

she prepared, embalmed, or, if not, how could the

ceremony be so long delayed ? A still more solemn

question with us was, should we get to Bangkok at

all ? It is not given to everybody to go to Bangkok,By this time even this question had been settled to

our satisfaction, and we had already left Singapore,

and were outward-bound for Bangkok.

The cremation was fixed for the 14th of February—that is, this was the first day of the ceremonial.

It would be a pity to miss the commencement of the

display, which we now heard was to be unusuallygrand. We left Singapore on the 9th of Februaryat four p.m., to have daylight for the passage round

A ROYAL CREMATION. 87

tlie headland, our captain being anxious besides to

save the tide over the bar of the Menam river on

the morning of Monday the 13th. He had timed

himself to be there at seven a.m. precisely, after a

four daj's' passage. Our skipper is a cautious man,

who never prophesies unless he knows. He whonever commits himself has now pledged his profes-

sional reputation on this precision. Meanwhile wehave time to think. Who was this princess, for

whom the days of mourning have so long been over?

Who was her father, who was her godmother,

—

who gave her her long and high-sounding name ?

Had she a sister, had she a brother, and whom ?

Was this the Asian mystery ?

A head-wind, as usual, when we want to get on;

blue and breezy were the leading impressions of the

few. on deck. Some of the party had collapsed;

Lady Clare sent to ask the captain to land her at

the nearest lighthouse. He smiled ; but, ever anxious

to oblige a lady, he ran the yacht somewhat out of

her course to keep her the better out of the roll of

the sea. The China Sea has a bad name, and seems

to deserve it.

We enter the narrow part of the Gulf of Siam on

Monday morning, but, alas for our captain's jeopar-

dised professional reputation, it is nearly noon, and

we have not yet reached the bar. We have abun-

dant time to admire the beryl-hued waters and look

at the numerous varieties of poisonous snakes frol-

icking about therein—snakes whose bite is fatal in

one hour, two hours, one day, two days, and so

forth,—and to correct our preconceived ideas of the

88 A ROYAL CREMATION.

land's profile; for, flat countries being now the

fashionable scenery, we expected Siam to take rank

with Holland or the Sa6ne, and lo, it is mountain-

ous, with a range of white cliffs and coco-palms

fringing the long white beaches, and closer by us

are numerous stake-nets, each stake tipped by a

sea-bird. The lighthouse is in sight, but the tide

is lost, and we must wait for the morrow ; for no

vessels of any size can cross the bar except at high

tide, and we, drawing fourteen feet of water (even

with a light lading of coal) require a full flood-tide.

At low tide there is only three feet of wateron the bar.

Our captain, pensive, as we lay all that day by

the bar of Bangkok, oh ! and we uncomfortable, as

we flopped while we stopped on the bar of Bangkok,

oh ! We had braced ourselves up for a vision of

glittering temples, etc., as per the books. Some of

the party go off to seek Nirvana. Our captain low-

spirited, he does not know precisely where we are.

We think that now is the time to comfort him bysuggesting that we should send up rockets as signals

of distress, it would cheer him up a bit. But no,

he seemed all the more worried. We looked out

smart toilettes for the cremation ceremony, but our

ardour was damped on reading in Bock's book,

* Temples and Elephants,' that the Siamese are

adopting our English fashion of wearing a crape

band round the arm for mourning. Shall we be

expected to wear court mourning ?

Four p.m.—Steaming valiantly, we have got into

the right course at last. It seems the skipper took

us into the channel of another river, not the Menam,

A ROYAL CREMATION. 89

but the Mekong, and we have made a considerable

angle to retrieve ourselves. This is the very place

where Camoens was shipwrecked, where he says,

' And Mecon shall the drowning poetry receive upon its breast, benign

and bland,

Coming from shipwreck in sad misery, 'scaped from the stormy shallows

to the land.'

This is not the only river named Mekong in these

parts. Camoens with difficulty reached the shore

on a plank, having lost everything but the M.S. of

his poem. All other wealth for ever lost,

' Myself escaped alone.

On this wild shore all friendless, hopeless thrown.'

The inhabitants of the country relieved his wants,

and he thanks them in the stanza beginning,

' Oh, gentle Mecon, on thy friendly shore,' etc.

He remained here some days waiting for a vessel to

take him to Goa, and while here he wrote his para-

phrase of the 137th Psalm, 'By the waters of

Babylon,' in fifty-seven stanzas. He hung his harp

by this far-ofi^ river.

The cremation being fixed for to-morrow, we shall

only just see it, and that is all ; or we may be only

in time to come out with the rest. The sight of

the Borneo steamer aground cheers us all ; we are

not stuck in the mud and lying over on our side like

her ; our dinner-table is horizontal, thank the powers.

We signalled to the lighthouse for a pilot, and

telephoned to friends in Bangkok to expect us, and

dropped anchor for the night. We were to moveon at daybreak, and all of us meant to be up at five

so as to see the fine temples at Paknam, in the

90 A ROYAL CREMATION.

entrance to the river. And we were so, notwith-

standing that we had played music till late into the

night. The rattling-up of the anchor is enough to

wake you from a swoon or trance.

' Is there coffee going ?' cries the Duke down the

cabin stairs. I had squeezed some tea out of

Bertha's tiny pot, and offered it. We stopped to

take some one aboard. Screams of delight from the

deck-house. Lady Clare welcomed her brother, Mr.

Edward Michell, now resident in Siam, whom she

had not seen for years.

' Make more coffee now these gentlemen are come

aboard,' cries the steward.' Who's come aboard ?'

' His Royal Highness, Prince What's-his-name.'

says Herries, skilfully fencing with the name Deva-

wongse, &c., &c.. Prince of Siam, whose portmanteau

I see on the saloon-table labelled with the prince's

name in Roman capitals. But it was not the prince

himself, but an official come to welcome the Duketo the country, and to show him that a palace andpreparations were ready for his reception in Bangkok.

The birds sing in the early morning as if they

knew it was St. Valentine's Day, and we sail through

pleasing scenery of tree-fringed shores, with a spiry

white pagoda on an islet, winding round this fanci-

ful building with the deep curves of the stream. It

is charming to glide over these lovely sheets of

water, the broad ribbon of the Menam fringed with

areca palms. The mangroved banks so brightly

green, like spring-green May at home. May in the

morning mist ; with red-brown peaked roofs of

A ROYAL CREMATION. 91

stilted dwellings, or boat-houses peeping here andthere, and quainter, high-pitched roofs of temples,

while through the grove glimmers an occasional

white pagoda, or a flagstaff with the banner of the

white elephant. Barring these latter objects, the

scene reminds me of Holland, a full, broad river

about three-quarters-of-a-mile wide, with a leafy-

shore, only the richer verdure here is more intense

in its greenness. And thence our thoughts fly to

friends at home, that is, those of us who have no

brothers here fly off; and we alter Hood and quote

softly :' To think that you're in England and I here

in Siam.'

' Up with our six-legged elephant,' is the cry, and

the Siamese flag flies bravely at the foremast of the

Sans Peur, in honour of the Lord of the Universe

and of the White Elephant ; the six-legged white

elephant, the trunk and tail—i'faith a royal tail !

—

by the bunting artist look like extra legs, ' compli-

mentary legs,' Herries called them.

The local colour of the Menam—the Mother of

Waters—is a brownish green ; it is full of vegetable

matter. A boat conveying a yellow-robed priest

across to a small pagoda is rowed by two menstanding, in Venetian style, with just the Venetian

touch.

The numerous boat-houses are most ornamental,

shaped like niiniature wooden temples, peeping out

among the various palms, dwarf and tall, feathery

bamboos and hundreds of sorts of trees new to me,

but all of such a May-like green, the moist, cool, but

heavy air laden with vegetable odours as of blossoms.

92 A ROYAL CREMATION.

The brown paddy-fields will likewise be green in a

few days. One sometimes sees a covey of rooks

above tbem. Paddy is the unhusked rice. Here

and there a boat shoots into a branch river or canal.

In one place a canal a mile long cuts off eleven

miles of the river. We approach the city. The

number of wooden houses floating on bamboo rafts

increase.

There is plenty of shipping, and the gondolas

(they call them ' gondolas ') are multitudinous,

many of them filled with fruit, or flowers for temple

offerings. It is a gay scene, there is no end of

colour ; the foreign consulates and the shipping, in-

cluding a Siamese gunboat and two yachts, are all

dressed with flags ; the elephants on the red flags

certainly run to legs. It is the Chinese New Year,

and the numerous Chinese coasters are beflagged.

It is the last of the three days that the festival lasts.

During these days the Chinese servants knock off

work, or at best beg their mistresses to have tiffin

instead of dinner ; thus there is three days general

discomfort for every dweller in the land. The palm-

thatched, peaked roofs are very marked in their

curved outline, and the shop-fronts, fixed or float-

ing, form a continuous river-side bazaar and market,

above which are quaint spires, some of them gilt

and glittering, and prachedees, circular or oval cones

of rings of white stone ending in a sharp point, andcoloured temple roofs. A lofty pagoda, surrounded

by four lesser pagodas, and another with spear-

pointed spires on the opposite side of the river, are

the principal features of the scene, rising above a

A ROYAL CREMATION. 93

group of white buildings of Italian renaissance

style, and palatial schools, which have been built a

long time but never opened. The whole scene is

more Venetian than Venice itself. Higher up the

river it again becomes a Chinese town, with black-

painted front walls to the wooden houses, and red

inscriptions ; and all teeming with life in quaint cos-

tumes and lively action, bare skins of many hues,

tawny, mahogany, and others, and busy movementby land and water ; and even up in the blue sky

innumerable toy kites, some of them fitted with

musical-boxes, and live birds, crows and wheeling

vultures. The land, which scarcely looks like solid

land at aU, but a phantasmagoria of moving colour,

holds up plumes of green plaintain and the slender

areca palm, 'an arrow shot from Heaven,' as a

Hindoo poet calls it, and the river holds endless

enjoyment for an artist ; fruit boats with two gon-

doliers and a gay parasol in the middle ; vegetable

boats and all manner of shapes of caique; flower

boats with pink flowering plants, and here, full of

dwarf orange-trees, a gondola with the real gondolaprow of burnished metal. The air is full of sounds of

musical beUs and tom-toms, and the whole city is

astir.

' Stand by your anchors.' We are arrived.

We are in time too for the pageant, which is

grander than we anticipated. There are no less

than four persons going to be cremated, two princes

and two princesses.

' Oh ! they're lumping them,' says somebody,irreverently.

9'Jt A ROYAL CREMATION.

' Yes, the ceremonial is so frightfully expensive.'

A season of unusual sickness, though not epidemic,

we hear, has carried off three of the king's seventy

children. The deceased princess we first heard of

was one of the king's numerous wives—not the

queen, although a lady of royal birth. ' The custom

of the Siamese from time immemorial has ascribed

honour and glory to their princes and lords some-

what in proportion to the wives they have and can

maintain.' * The affections must be diluted that

are divided amongst so many. ' The last year has

been marked by an unusual prevalence of illness,

which, although not of an epidemic kind, has caused

much suffering and loss of life,' says the king in

his birthday speech, modelled on the New Yearspeeches of French and German potentates, in which

he also alludes to the jubilee of his ' valued ally, the

Queen of England and Empress of India.'

A palace is provided for us for the fortnight of our

stay. ' What provisions shall we take on shore ?'

—

They will supply us with wine and food.

' How hospitable !' says the Duke. ' Then weshall need nothing but shirt-collars ;' pensively, ' I

wonder what sort of a dinner they'll give us.'

The Duke's appetite is returning after his illness.

Dark Charlie's face of awed astonishment was as

good as a play, when he saw his Grace pitch his

physic into his wash-hand basin ; so different from

Sir Henry G., who always takes any medicine that

is lying about, ' to prevent waste.'

We packed our things for shore, and rowed to the

* ' Bangkok Calendar,'

A ROYAL CREMATION. 95

landing-place, among the picturesque and bewildering

confusion of caiques, gondolas, and house-boats with

flattened barrel-shaped bamboo covers to them, all

filled with good-humoured people. ' If you run

over the people, they don't mind ; they smile at

you ;' and so they do as we drive through the

streets to our palace. I am glad the native coach-

men are merciful. We drove through the city

gates. Bangkok is surrounded by a crenellated

wall twelve feet broad, with towers, round-headed

battlements, and numerous gates. Turpin says the

city was fortified, in 1685, by the Chevalier de

Chaumont. This accounts for the semi-European

look of the fortifications. Mrs. Leonowens says the

wall dates from 1670. The palaces and royal harem

are situated on the right hand as you ascend the

stream, on a plot of ground formed by a sharp

curve of the river, enclosing it on the west. Theair was heavy -with an odour as of incense, arising

partly from the tropic vegetation of palms, plan-

tains, &c., mingled with the small fires of vegetable

refuse smouldering on the ground, which the natives

use for their cookery.

A turn to the right brought us to the straight

road which leads past the large enclosure containing

the palaces and temples devoted to the king's use, a

collection of varied and picturesque buildings, whose

gilt and horned roofs, and pinnacles, and pagodas

form a striking group;past the Premane, or ground

enclosed for the cremation ceremonies, and out

beyond the city to a long distance in the highly-

cultivated country. Sparrows are as numerous and

96 A ROYAL CREMATION.

unconcerned as in London ; but besides these are

exquisite blue and other finely-coloured birds, like

one sees in ladies' hats or on ladies' muffs in London,

flying about here as unnoticed as the sparrows ; the

tailless Siamese cats even do not appear to molest

them.

Opposite the central gate of the royal palace

the road is lined with broad spaces of green turf,

here divided by a side-street leading to the Italian

palace, where we are to take up our abode. Sentries

presented arms to us on entering the paved court-

yard, adorned with statues and ornamental plants

in boxes, beyond which is the white palace front,

where a steep marble staircase leads to a long

vestibule, or rather saloon, on the first-floor, of fine

size and proportion, floored with grey, polished

marble, and divided by a range of columns from

the outer corridors and balcony terraces. The lofty

walls, distempered in cool grey-blue, are upholstered

in blue satin damask, and the palace is furnished

palatially throughout in the showy taste of southern

Germany. I see the far-east is the market for the

indifferent pictures in German-gilt frames, chiefly

tea-board landscapes, painted so abundantly in

Europe. I knew that British lodging-houses and

foreign hotels could not absorb them all; I see the

rest come to Siamese palaces.

The chamberlain—his name was Bamreubhakdi,

his title Phaya, meaning duke or governor of a

province—a fineman wearing a longwhite jacket, -with

gold buttons, a purple silk panung, a sort of breeches

common to men and women in Siam, white silk

A ROYAL CREMATION. 97

stockings, and buckled shoes, welcomed us to Saran-

roum, or the Palace of Calm Delights, and intro-

duced us to our apartments, "where, owing to the

Chinese New Year, and the dilatory habits of the

country, the workmen were still at work at the

fastenings of the doors and shutters. There are no

glass windows, except where, at each end of the long

marble vestibule, the walls of plate-glass show a small

drawing-room at either end.

Our rooms have coloured mosquito-curtains woven

with gold thread, painted silk blinds, and painted

and brocaded coverlets ; no sheets, but a linen-

covered mattress, and the softest of blankets folded

up in case of need, and a hard round bolster laid

down the middle of the bed.

A younger and smaller man in similar costume

to our chamberlain is a member of the royal family

appointed to look after us and act as interpreter.

He speaks English perfectly, as he has studied

medicine for several years in Edinburgh, and been

altogether eleven years in Europe, principally in

England. We call him Prince Doctor, as an easier

name than Mom Rajawongse Yai Suaphan Sanit-

wongse, though not so pretty. He is partner with

the Scotch Dr. Gowan iu Bangkok, and has medical

charge of the royal palace.

The toilet arrangements are most complete. Asa graceful attention we are supplied with all kinds

ofperfumes—even the washing water is scented, alas

!

—tooth-powder, tooth-paste, liquid dentrifice, and

every sort of brush, nail-brush, feather whisks,

clothes-brushes, boot-brushes ! and tooth-brushes ! !

H

98 A ROYAL CREMATION.

every requisite for the toilet, in short, but soap, and

Pears' soap has been since supplied. Bertha flung

the hair-brushes indignantly into a drawer. ' Dothese messieurs fancy we do not carry about our

brushes with us !'

The Duke has on his dressing-table hair-wash,

face-wash, powder-puff^, complexion paste, tablets for

softening the hands, and everything that a Duke can

desire, and this ungrateful nobleman cares for none

of these things, their sweetness is wasted upon him.

The pianoforte is more to his mind.

The palace attendants duck and run past the

persons they mean to pay respect to if they are on

an errand, otherwise they stop and squat upon the

ground. The Chinese upper servants belonging to

the victualling department here in the palace are

dressed in white ; the inferior servants are in drabs

and blues. One or two of the half-dozen China-

men who wait at table understand English. The

Siamese upper servants have white jackets, or else

shirts, and dark panungs ; the lower ones wear dark

jackets, and have a cigarette stuck behind the ear.

They duck and run before the men in white jackets.

These underlings wash the marble floors each day

—

the floors throughout the palace, that is, except in

the bed-rooms, where there are rugs, carpets, and

oilcloth. There is little or no dust in the palace;

though hot, the climate is too moist to be dusty. Theservants crouch on hands and knees to the chamber-

lain, and when they see us in the vestibule they duckand run and slink behind the columns as if afraid weshould see them.

A ROYAL CREMATION. 99

The first floor of this palace, where we are lodged,

is built round an inner courtyard with a white

pagoda-shaped structure in the middle, reflecting

heat and a dazzling glare that is only endurable

through the painted silk curtains of the corridors

leading to our rooms ; though when the sun is off

this pleasant conjunction of verandah, corridor, and

garden it forms an agreeable general meeting-place

for talk, and for repose among tbe rows of crotons and

foliaged plants, where the tame sparrows and other

birds also enjoy life. There are swallows in abun-

dance, likewise swifts, and occasionally crows fly

about the courtyards. The crows and vultures are

sacred, being the public scavengers. Siam offers a

vast field to the ornithologist, and indeed to the

naturalist in all lines. Mr. Michell is makirig a

collection of coloured drawings of the birds ; even

he, an ornithologist, knew but few of them before.

The consoles and balustrades of the cross corridors,

and the staircases leading to the offices below, pro-

fusely covered with finely-coloured tropical shrubs,

make a delightful natural aviary.

Coffee ices were brought to us in the long vesti-

bule saloon while we read our letters from home. If

the mails meet each other everywhere, letters can

reacb Bangkok from London in a month, but the

Siamese foreign post is not a fixed and regular service.

Tea and iced cake were next handed round. Wethought this would be a pleasant place to stay in for

a fortnight, and we agreed that King Chulalonkorn

was an excellent host.

We read in the Bangkok Times that ' arrangements

h2

100 A ROYAL CREMATION.

for the cremation of the royal princess, also two sons

and a daughter of His Majesty the King, whose loss

we had to mourn last year, are now complete. The

workmen have been busy for some five months in

erecting the premane, and at last a fair idea may be

had of the beautiful efi^ect produced by the quaint

architecture of the whole. There are about twelve

large chalets erected on the ground around the

premane, all more or less built of timber, with gables

and upper storey in the style of early English and

Italian architecture, Avith gardens transformed into

rivulets and waterfalls (!) A very large house with

canopies, pinnacles, etc., in endless variety, along

with crockets, tracery, and other enrichments in the

form of a Turkish grotto, is on the eastern side of

the premane, the archways leading out to a broad

verandah. In addition to these there are other

beautiful cottages or stalls, handsomely painted anddecked with flowers, whilst most of the articles to

be given away are very valuable, of choice quality,

and have all been purchased in Europe through Mr.Miiller.' It was difficult, in this muddle of Turkishgrottoes, beautiful cottages, and early English andItalian chalets, waterfalls, etc., to gather anythingclear of what there was to be seen, so Mr. Cobhamasked me to take an exploratorywalk with him in thecool of the afternoon. The chamberlain, in full

fig, offered to personally conduct us out to see thepreliminary ceremonial, but we preferred, in gaininga first impression, to prowl about incog.

We watched some tilting of a peaceful sort withponies on the green between our palace and the

A ROYAL CREMATION. 101

royal precincts, whose high white wall conceals all

but the white or golden pagoda spires of a delight-

fully bizarre group of buildings, and then we walked

on through the crowded road round the place pre-

pared for the cremation ceremony, the Premaneitself. The whole scene gay and busy as a fair on

a very large scale ; the enclosure marked by lines

of pagoda-shaped standards, of quaintest sort, to be

used in the illuminations and scaffoldings covered

with lamps in strange devices, and beyond the en-

closure a series of open theatres, tea-shops answer-

ing to French cafes, illuminated shows and manyplaces of amusement, all thronged by crowds in

motley costume, the skins of women and children

coloured with poM'dered Indian saffron ; and camp-

fires showing us the preparation of multitudes to

bivouac in the neighbourhood.

The naturally poUte and good-humoured crowd

eyed our costumes curiously, of course, just as westared at them, but they did not press on us, nor

stare rudely, though we challenged public interest

along with the rest of the show. A better-mannered

mob I never expect to see ; everywhere, as they

politely made way for us to pass, I thought of the

Siamese proverb I had heard of, ' Nobility implies

but pedigree, but manners the man.' Yet they

were anxious to get all the fun of the fair too;

there is a touch of human nature all over the world.

We stood by the palace gates, at the western side of

the enclosure, and saw a procession defile out with

litters, urns, bands and banners.

It was the most theatrical thing, reminding us of

102 A ROYAL CREMATION.

' Lohengrin,' or something still more spectacular by-

Augustus Druriolanus. Four curtained litters passed

by with gorgeous ladies, wives of the king, the third

litter containing the queen herself wearing black

sewn with seed pearl, and a child with her in black

;

the fourth litter held a lady gay in pink and green

and jewels. It is, T hear, a very unusual thing for

the ladies of the royal harem to pass in open pro-

cession, but there they were, and of three of them

at least we could see the unveiled faces distinctly.

Banners swept on of many shapes and many tatters

(from the wars ?) most of them made of painted

cotton ; eflFective at a distance, but from our coign

of vantage we saw them too near,—we were behind

the scenes, as it were. One car bore golden images

of Buddha under glass shades, then followed four

biers, very richly decorated, that we supposed

supported the bodies of the royal dead, with priests

in yellow garments kneeling at the head and foot

of each. We were afterwards informed that these

were urns containing the ashes of former kings of

the dynasty. The Bangkok Times of the 15th of

Febuary, 1888, said, ' Yesterday, the 14th instant,

the urns containing the remains of former kings of

the present dynasty were brought in procession

from the Palace to the Premane, and then placed

on the magnificent thrones prepared to receive

them.' Tomtoms were played and conches most

discordant, and other instruments of a Siamese bandthat we did not think much of. Then came the

army in various shabby imitations ofFrench uniform,

and the navy represented by the men of the royal

A ROYAL CREMATION. 103

yacht Vesatri ; then followed a body of men in white

who seemed to be palace officials, A possibly

cooks, with pointed white helmets ^::^^or rather

caps "vvith brass rings hung round them.

After the long procession had filed out, Mr.

Cobham and I walked on round the other side of

the Premane precincts, still like a fair, and profuse

in coloured decorations and black bunting. Many of

the large buildings and warehouses have black, or

black and white, decorations festooned upon them for

mourning. The tall gates on this side were as pro-

fusely decorated as those in front, although they led

out upon the back premises, and were neighboured

by cooking and refreshment booths, and tents for the

horses and other animals.

The fire-brigade was here stationed with several

engines and paraphernalia seemingly in good work-

ing order ; its presence appeared highly necessary in

the midst of that profusion of canvas, painted paper,

illuminations, and other theatrical properties. While

we were examining the brigade—and they us—wenoticed a large column of smoke rising at some

distance ; we suspected it was a fire, but as the

brigade took no manner of notice of it, and the

engines did not offer to stir, we concluded the

smoke must relate to the ceremony in some way.

Another Asian mystery.

The tall standards, looking like scaffolding

arranged for illumination, were lighted up as wereturned at dusk, losing our way, and feeling like

babes in the wood in the bewildering throng,

because we did not know the name of our palace.

lOi A ROYAL CREMATION.

and therefore could not ask for it. We found the

turning at last, it was not far to seek, and as

a measure of precaution learnt the pronunciation of

the palace's name, ' Saranroum ' (the n is not

sounded, and may be omittedj, signifying place of

delight, or of special rest. It was built about

twenty-five years ago, as a place of repose for the

king from the noise and bustle of his palaces in the

royal enclosure. Possibly he is at times glad to

get away from the clamour of his forty wives and

seventy children. The large white stone barracks

next to this palace were built six years ago. The

column of smoke during this time had grown larger

and loftier, and the sky on one side was black with

its clouds, of which only here and there anyone took

any notice or set off to run in the direction of the

smoke. Truly there is a great calmness about these

Orientals.

On our return we heard that the reason of this

dense smoke was a great fire at a timber wharf and

a ship-building yard. It might easily have burnt

all Bangkok, which, as it is built of wood and grass,

would have made a great cremation spectacle ; but

that is a detail. We asked why the fire brigade

did not stir ; they told us there was another brigade

on the other side of the river, where the fire was.

This does not seem to have been exact, but it mighthave been difficult to carry the engines, &c., across

the rivei'. The Father of all Knowledge, the Bang-kok Times, soon gave us an account of it. I give

the shorn heads thereof:

'A more destructive and rapid fire has seldom

A ROYAL CREMATION. 106

been known in Bangkok. At the moment of the

outbreak, about six p.m., all the inhabitants of the

house were away, excepting the cook employed in

the house where the fire originated, and who appears

to have upset a tin of petroleum, and so set fire

to the building. The alarm was quickly given, and,

half-an-hour afterwards, some firemen and police

arrived, and commenced to play upon the flames

Avith hand-squirts, when great streams of fire burst

forth from adjacent buildings ; and it was evident

that the conflagration would soon test the whole

police force. Every narrow lane where there was

a prospect of reaching the blaze Avas soon filled with

men passing buckets of water along ; but, in spite

of all etForts, the flames steadily gained ground

till they reached A. Kon Hoi's saw-mill, containing

upwards of one hundred thousand dollars' worth

of planks, which were quickly consumed. Theflames then, by a slight change in the direction of

the Avind, were driven across a small creek on to

the backs of other houses to the east, several of

Avhich were gutted; the complete destruction of

them, however, being averted by pulling down the

attap roofs of four large buildings in their neigh-

bourhood. From A. Kon Hoi's establishment the

fire rapidly spread, and, after consuming another

fifty houses or so, set fire to a second, but smaller,

timber-yard. Here the conflagration reached its

height, and the scene was one of aAvful grandeur.

Dense clouds of black smoke and huge columns

of bright fl^me rose to a level with the neighbouring

Wat Chang' [the loftiest temple in Bangkok, covered

106 A ROYAL CREMATION.

with glittering ornamentation of porcelain and earth-

enware]. 'When a high tree caught fire it presented

a magnificent appearance, but the sight did not last

long; for the tree soon fell bodily into the burning

abyss below. Towards a quarter-past seven, the

fire reached a broad rivulet running along the whole

side of the burning mass : and there the fire was

kept in check by men standing up to their waists

in the water, and throwing it on the flames. It

is hardly possible to estimate accurately the amount

of damage caused. Having regard, however, to the

large amount of valuable timber consumed, and to

the total loss of three hundred houses, with their

contents, the loss may be stated, on the lowest

calculation, to be over one hundred and fifty thou-

sand dollars. At half-past seven all further danger

was over ; and then it was that the steam engine

from the water-police station slowly steamed up,

and calmly contemplated the smouldering remains.'

The Dukeof Sutherland, an accomplished amateur

fireman, who in all his travels makes the fire

brigades an object of attention, contrasted this

sluggishness or unreadiness of the Siamese with

what he had seen in New York, where the highly-

trained horses placed themselves in position by the

engine-pole, and the men dropped down the shoot,

half-dressed, carrying their clothes to put on. Theywere ready in a minute exactly. ' See what we can

do,' said Captain Shaw, on hearing this on the

Duke's return to London. Captain Shaw signalled

as for a fire, and out galloped the engine complete

in twenty-three seconds.

A ROYAL CREMATION. 107

From the windows of my own room I have a view

of the towers and pagodas of the temples and

palaces in the royal enclosure, with a clock in a

tall tower which keeps time. Bangkok time is

earlier than Greenwich by six hours forty-two min-

utes and one-and-a-half seconds. I can see several

of the palace buildings and wats (temples), and a

pleasing foreground of mangoes, plantains hung with

fruit, and a large forest tree most freshly green, the

haunt of delightful birds ; also the children and

fine poultry belonging to my dusky neighbours in

the small street by the side of our palace. At noon

I shut the shutters, to keep out the heat, and sit

to write in a small inner room beyond the great

marble vestibule, which I have adopted as myafternoon sitting-room. It is pleasant writing bythe open windows looking out on a grove with

pagodas peeping up among the trees, and pink

amaryllis flowers growing in vases on the parapets

of the verandah. We have a large drawing-room

with a piano in it, and other sitting-rooms, corridors,

&c., on the opposite side of the central courtyard,

and a smoking-room and a handsome drawing-room

at one end of the long dining-room, where there

is a table long enough to dine fifty persons.

They give us heavy luncheons and European

dinners. For every meal the epergnes are newly

dressed with fresh flowers, many of them new to

me. As they see me look closely at these, the at-

tendants try to take me in by fitting centres of

hibiscus into calyxes of lilies, and other deceptions,

sometimes so well done that Linnaeus himself might

108 A ROYAL CREMATION.

be deceived. They watch with amused looks to see

if I shall be caught. They grow a beautiful blue

flower here, a pure ultramarine (papilionaceous

blossom)—the same plant, the torea, that I gathered

at Massowah, only cultivated, double, and hand-

some. We should find this a great addition to our

small stock of blue flowers.

The drinking water tastes muddy, and is full of

vegetable matter. This, they said, was owing to

the pipes having been recently laid. We punished

their soda-water pretty well. They gave us con-

densed milk, thinking it was our custom to take it,

and that we preferred it to fresh milk, which is,

however, readily procured in Bangkok.

The royal gardens just outside our palace are

very pleasant, full of flowers and stately trees. Along turfy glade, shaded with masses of bamboo,

Avhose columns creak and sigh with every swaying

breeze, is lined with seats, and, I must admit, com-

monplace European statues ; these seats commandcharming views of pagodas and wats, with horned

gables to their coloured roofs. A collection of Sia-

mese birds, curious pheasants, peacocks, &c., is kept

behind the hedges of this glade, and a menagerie of

wild beasts of Siam, leopards and others, and great

grey adjutants strut about the gardens. There is a

stand for the band, which plays here on Saturday

afternoons, when the public are admitted. A long

conservatory filled with ferns and orchids has wind-

ing staircases leading to an agreeable promenade on

the roof. There is also a tennis-ground surrounded

by seats, fountains, and curious figures of men.

A ROYAL CREMATION. 109

lions, and dragons cut in a small-leafed species of

yew. The Siamese are fond of flowers, but I see

they chiefly employ Chinese gardeners.

The king commanded that every day two of the

royal carriages should be in waiting at our palace

gates for our use whenever we wish to take a

drive ; but 'as it is sometimes said that everyone

should travel on foot, like Thales, Plato, and Pytha-

goras,' the actual examination of things giving

life to the idea, I went about sometimes on foot,

like the philosophers, to get a closer view of the

streets of Bangkok than one commands from a

carriage.

I see the Siamese have a taste for classical temples.

Several small specimens of these are mingled with

the Buddhist national temples, as well as fifth-rate

statuary such as abounds in the precincts of the

Palace of Calm Delights, Floras, Hebes, and mostkillingly French Cupids. The young Siamese nobles

sent to Europe to study bring back a taste for these

classical temples, and for artificial stone statuary pur-

chased in the Euston Road.

I hurry past these ornaments, preferring the truly

native localities, where, under light bridges, often

made of a single pole or plank supported on tressels,

boats are darting about the various canals, rowedchiefly by women wearing panungs, with a scarf over

their shoulders, which is the chief difference betweenmen's and women's costume, and hats like broadround baskets turned upside-down, and fitted inside

with a wicker cap of open work. This strange but

sensible hat has every advantage of shade and cool-

110 A ROYAL CREMATION.

ness. They are made of palm-leaves neatly sewn

together ; some of them are very finely sewn and

woven. The children mostly run about naked, or

with nothing but metal or glass ornaments.

There are not many jinrickshas, and the few are

very shabby, as if bought second-hand from Singa-

pore; but a good many sorts of four-wheeled vehicles

run on the macadamised road, bordered by the tele-

graph, which I followed as we do in France, where

it generally leads to the centre of the town. The

Siamese have pillar-post boxes, too. Why these

should have surprised me, I do not know, as I had

already used their postage-stamps. The people

stare, of course, at seeing me out alone in British

costume, but they are not rude nor aggressive, and

there are no demands for baksheesh or largesse of

any kind. There is no gas, but they have the elec-

tric light in some places, and plenty of oil gas ; and

petroleum lamps and Chinese lanterns light the

streets sufficiently. The Duke has given the king

one of the large new lucigen lights ; there is to be a

trial of it to-night, and, if successful, it will be used

at the cremation.

The weather was extremely warm—unusually so,

they tell us, for February, which is thus spoken of

in the Bangkok calendar: 'During February the

wind blows much of the time from the N.E., at

other times from the E. and S.S.E., and the weather

is cool, pleasant, and healthy. Sometimes the windveers to the south, and it becomes oppressive for a

day or two. Showers of rain generally occur about

the middle of the month, which are regarded as indis-

A ROYAL CREMATION. Ill

pensable to set the mango-fruit, then hanging thickly

on the trees likesmall egg-plums.' The bestmangoesin

the world are Siamese ; the stones are a flattened ovoid.

Mr. Michell, legal adviser to the King of Siam,

took his sister, Lady Clare, to present her to the

king ; but His Majesty, knowing that there were

two ladies in the Duke's party, expressed to our

chamberlain his regret that I had not accompanied

them, and hoped I would attend his banquet at the

palace on the following day, causing a particular

invitation to be sent me, addressed and written in

Siamese, and sealed with a golden seal.

We dressed in our gayest robes of state for the

king's dinner-party, as we heard His Majesty liked

the brightest of colours. The gentlemen mostly

wore uniform or court dress. We were given chairs

in the vestibule of the royal palace, while waiting

for some formality or other. As no European ladies

had ever dined with the king before, there was no

precedent for our reception. The queen did not

appear. We were taken upstairs to a large saloon,

the roof supported by columns, and fancy portraits of

former Siamese sovereigns, &c., hung all round. The

room was European ; indeed, the palace was Re-

naissance, or Italian cinquecento throughout. This

palace, called Sapratome, was built nearly twenty

years ago. The only Oriental objects in the saloon

were the king's ivory throne, a really beautiful piece

of carving, and the costumes of the Siamese princes,

chamberlains, and the attendants who ducked and

ran behind the columns past the grandees, or the

Europeans.

112 A ROYAL CREMATION.

One other lady was present on this occasion, a

Portuguese countess, the wife of the Governor of

Macao, who was here with his son. Besides the

Duke of Sutherland's party, there were several Euro-

peans: Commodore de Richelieu, who commands the

Siamese fleet j Captain Bush, R.N., an old friend and

trusted counsellor of His Majesty; Mr. Michell, his

legal adviser ; Mr. Macarthy, who has been survey-

ing the country with a view to railways; and Doctor

Gowan, the chief royal physician, and Lieutenant

Chaby, a Portuguese. Our chamberlain and Prince

Doctor were also present, covered with orders and

decorations.

After some time of waiting, when everyone was

assembled, King Chulalonkorn appeared, wearing

black for mourning, and received us in the fashion

of western royalty. We curtsied deeply as he shook

hands with us. He is a handsome man, slight and

small, though taller than most of the members of

his family, and much better-looking than any of

them. His Majesty took the lead alone.

I was taken in first to dinner—in right of my age,

I suppose, though we ladies were none of us juvenile

—by the king's eldest full brother, who is his primeminister ; the Prince Devawongse, brother of the

queen, better known as Prince Devan (the king's

private secretary and chancellor of the exchequer),

who was called prime minister when he was here in

England, seems, on account of his knowledge of

English and his wide travelling experience, to beMinister of Foreign Affairs ; but Prince Goodness-

knows-how-to-spell-him-wongse spoke Englishequally

A ROYAL CREMATION. 113

well, though he had never been in Europe. The Dukeof Sutherland took in the Portuguese countess

—

alas ! she did not even speak French—and Prince

Dcvan took in Lad}' Clare.

The king's chair of state was placed at the centre

of the long table ; his relatives and nobles, mostly

wearing costumes of cloth of gold and kincob bro-

cades, quite a feast of colour, surrounded His

Majesty. We three ladies sat facing the king,

divided by the Duke of Sutherland and the Portu-

guese Governor. The guests numbered about sixty

in all. The band in an ante-room played delight-

fully, national Siamese music alternately with selec-

tions from the ' Bohemian Girl ' and ' Faust;'

Valentine's song being especially well-played ; the

performance commencing and ending with the spirited

Siamese national hymn.

The musicians are all native ; their leader is a

Siamese. The military band in the courtyard was

led by an Italian band-master.

They do not use punkahs in Siam, but attendants

in crimson costumes waved large feather-fans over

our heads, jerking them suddenly so as to frighten oiF

the mosquitoes. There are few or no flies in Bangkok.

The chief princes of the royal house wore beau-

tiful jewelled collars of a native Order ; Prince

Premier had, of course, one of these. Some of the

elderly nobles, in brocaded raiment, opposite, stared

at us so hard through their spectacles that it was

almost embarrassing. They did not exactly stare

rudely, but as if spellbound with astonishment that

women should be able to talk intelligently, sit at

114 A ROYAL CREMATION.

table, and eat their dinner properly. The Siamese

men and women do not take their meals together.

Dinner was served in European style, the glass

and porcelain, all from Europe, were engraved and

painted with the royal arms and King Chulalon-

korn's long name, though perhaps not all his numer-

ous names. The king and princes all drank Euro-

pean wines.

The dessert was the only thing presenting any

great novelty to us ; the sweetmeats were curious,

and the fruits various and strange. I was persuaded

to try the jack-fruit, which is pleasant and good for

food. The jack-fruit in its large, rough husk,

weighs nearly seventy pounds. But it is another

popular fallacy that tropical fruits are delicious;

they are not to be compared with ours. It is

curious hoAV the notion ever arose that the fruits

were fine, of excellent quality, that is, in the

tropics.

Prince Premier talked well ; he had heard about

my books, and that I am taking notes to write myimpressions of Siam. The Siamese, he thinks, would

be more conservative than we, in the parliament

which is with them an idea for the far distant future.

Though quite a young man, he does not think he

shall live to see the railway that will shorten the

journey from Europe—or India—to Bangkok bycrossing the head of the long Malayan peninsula.

He does not want it evidently. The king laughed

and talked with his princes, and frequently addressed

us through an interpreter ; indeed, he was a very

agreeable host to his various guests. How varied

A ROYAL CREMATION. 115

can hardly be imagined, there is such a wide difference

of ideas between us and the elder nobles in kincobs

;

the languages were perhaps our least difference: there

were the Portuguese lady speaking no language but

her own, the Governor of Macao addressing me in

French, Siamese babbled softly in its liquid semi-

Italian murmurs all round, and English chattered

distinctly enough.

Mixed society indeed, but ' 'tis only in mixed

society you find the true sparkle, the fire of clashing

wits, the lightning flashes of adverse opinions,'

—

though these things are scarcely to be found at

kings' tables. Anyway, we gather new impressions.

After dinner we were conducted to a smaller

saloon, richly furnished in European style. Here

the king handed. garlands of flowers to many of us,

which we hung round our necks or arras. Mine

was a chain of alternate white and yellow night-

scented flowers (yellow the royal colour). Some of

the wreaths were pink, some white, all various and

all perfumed. When I got home I hung up mywreath to preserve it. The scent was so strong that

I could hardly bear it even with three open win-

dows and a draught right through the room. I

noticed the incense smell of odorous night-scented

flowers all over Siam, in those ' still, heavy, oppres-

sive, fragrant nights.'

Though the king conversed with us through an

interpreter, he fully understood what we said;

indeed, I always addressed myself to him directly.

Prince Premier told me the king knew and spoke

English as well as the best of them, but he has a

i2

116 A ROYAL CREMATION.

certain shyness in speaking lest he should make any

mistakes. Some books say it is not etiquette for

the king to speak in any but his own language, but

this is not the case. Prince Premier, and indeed all

the princes, spoke of the king with much affection,

and a respect bordering on veneration. He seems a

most amiable monarch.

We ladies and the Duke of Sutherland were taken

to another part of the palace to be presented to the

queen, a charming little woman dressed in black

—

she was in mourning for her children—wearing the

panung (of black silk), which, like the men's cos-

tume, is arranged so as to have the appearance of

knee-breeches, showing her legs in open-worked

black silk stockings to the knee. She has very

small and pretty feet and ankles. She wore the

national form of scarf across her shoulders, and

several orders on her black jacket, which was sewn

with seed pearl. Her hair is cut short like a boy's,

and she wears nothing on her head. It is a comical,

yet piquant costume. The queen is not handsome

in face, but dignified, and very pleasing in manner

;

I was captivated by her. Her Majesty does not under-

stand English, so we spoke through an interpreter.

She spoke gravely, I thought nervously, as if unac-

customed to such public speaking. She said she was

gratified to receive a visitor of such distinction as

the Duke of Sutherland. We backed out in proper

form. What must she have thought of our volumi-

nous trained skirts

!

It was only 10.10 when we returned to the Palace

of Calm Delights, but we had passed a pleasant

A ROYAL CREMATION. 117

evening, notwithstanding that the thermometer

stood at 88°.

Our poor dear ' Lappy ' has been lost from the

yacht, as he swam ashore for the fourth time. Bythis time he will have been destroyed by the pariah

dogs, or, worse stiU, made into pies by the Chinese.

118

CHAPTER V.

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

Is it illusion or not that attracteth the pilgrim transalpine,

Brings him a duUard and dunce hither to pry and to stare ?

Is it illusion or not that allures the barbarian stranger,

Brings him with gold to the shrine, brings him in arms to the gate ?

A. H. Clough.

My key to modern Siamese history, the Bangkok

Times, says, ' On Friday the 17th of February, early

in the morning, the remains of His Royal Highness

Somdetch Chow Fa Siri Rachakukutbandh, and His

Royal Highness Somdetch Chow Fa Bhahuratmnimai

Avill be placed on the large funeral cars and brought

in procession to the premane, where they will be

placed in the central dome.'

We arrayed ourselves in white for complimentary

mourning and because of the heat ; but in rather

dressy costume, as we were to meet several of the

royal ladies, who were also invited to take seats in

the verandah of Mr. Michell's house, opposite the

royal grand stand erected under a striped awning

near the principal gates of the palace. About half-

a-dozen of the prince's wives sat with us in this

gallery chatting, chewing betel, and carefully closing

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 119

the jalousies between them and the crowd below.

We opened those at the other end of the verandah

wide that we might see all that was to be seen.

Facing us, across the road, sat the queen and

the king's wives in a closed gallery, though wecould see their black dresses plainly, and sometimes

their faces. A golden throne was placed in the

centre of this pavilion for the king, but he did not

occupy it. We were offered seats in the royal

enclosure, but, as full dress for us and hot uniform

for the gentlemen would have been indispensable, wedeclined them, having already accepted the offer of

Mr. Michell's gallery overlooking the road. The

space of turf made our seats a little further off, but it

was a relief having the green to look out upon, and

the ways of the crowd and their variegated costume

were as entertaining to us as the procession itself.

Some of the officers of the yacht stood behind the

Duke.

We waited and talked, and, seeing my note-book

open, Prince Doctor came near to give me a correct

explanation of everything, though there was too

much to look at to allow much time for explanations.

The gay and varied festival costumes of the crowd

looked like a ' wind-stirred tulip-bed,' in particular

the bright colours of umbrellas and panungs.

European hats, straw or billycock, are very general,

but inharmonious with the national costume. These

hats look like German make. Penny ices served

like we see them in London on a Sunday are

popular among the crowd. The inevitable ' Derby

dog ' is represented by a squalling baby, in a scarlet

120 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

panung, gilt anklets and such a funny little pigtail,

continually kicking the grass-green inexpressibles

of his patient papa.

Throngs are arriving from all quarters ; now it is

impossible to cross the road. Prince Doctor told

me of a Siamese gentleman walking in London, whoasked, after vainly trying to cross the Strand, if

there was a cremation going on ?

They are forming for the processions ; men in

lapis-lazuli blue jerkins with orange and red flags,

and other blue uniforms, alternating with the sailor

dress of the numerous i*oyal yachtsmen lining the

road, and a discordant band. Here is an elephant, a

white elephant—no, a model. The Augustus Drurio-

lanus of Bangkok shines to-day. Red coats andred hats (men implied) bear green and yellow

standards of muslin or paper. Then come various

standards, crosses, and a sort of may-pole ; then

pagoda-shaped standards of three graduated um-brellas, and pagoda-shaped lanterns.

All stood still till the royal procession appeared.

The king led the_jivay, wearing Siamese costume

and a black billycock hat. He was carried by menin a throne under a state umbrella. Two of his

children in white were with him, one stood by him,

the smaller one sat on his knee. The crown prince

was carried on a similar throne behind him.

Packets of yellow and red cloth, for presents to

the priests, are borne on small canopied arks. /^The arks are really borne on poles, though TJ\

they are apparently drawn by men in red. CPA symbolical figure, a ' dragon-endedman,' as Prince

lilOH LIFE IN ASIA. 121

Doctor described him, with a fiery tail, was carried

under a red umbrella.

' Do you see that figure-head, Butters ?' says the

Duke.

The first mate grins at it, and at the gold cocks,

green and red dragons, and other fabulous animals.

It is strange how demon-worship lingers amongthese people, notwithstanding the reformations

effected by Sivartha (Buddha).

' That is a god who eats snakes,' says my cicerone.

' That is one who eats ladies.'

' A useful beast,' ventured somebody, his namedoes not matter, as he was instantly annihilated.

Then come a number of round standards, and some

banners crossed ' baldrick-wise ' with white ribbons.

'This is a god who goes about looking after the

big snake Pianah and devours it. He is the bearer

of the sun. This is a symbol of the sun drying upthe swamps.'

Now comes the band. This national music is a

whirring sound accompanying the pipes. Thewhirring is perhaps more agreeable than the drone

of the Scotch bagpipes. The screeching baby con-

tributed its assistance to the band. He was pacified

with an ice. He has been smiting his mother too

hard, so again the green-breeked father takes and

fondles him tenderly. Children are ruled by love in

Siam—where the birch does not grow,

' Oh, my eye, here is a go, forty 'buses in a row !'

quoted Prince Doctor, who, as we know, studied

the classics in England, as more dragons, heraldic

lions rampant, and other symbolical figures on cars

122 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

came to a halt before the royal gallery—and ours.

A light breeze makes sight-seeing endurable, but

the thermometer stands at 90° in the shade. The

Chinamen selling the penny ices drive a fine busi-

ness. Sir Andrew Clarke comes up to our gallery.

He found himself—in his light dust-coat—among all

the gaily-dressed Siamese nobles in golden kincobs;

and, when his name was called out, he had to

apologise for his costume, as he passed before the

king. He finds life easier on our side. Thedragons and armies move on again, with heavily-

broidered banners. Then come the men in white,

with the pointed hats with metal rings round them,

bearing crimson artificial flowers in triple bunches,

arranged pagoda- wise. There are about a hundredof these flower-bearers.

Bursts of sound of drums are heard, and pipes

and fifes ; drummers in scarlet appear, banging their

drums at intervals, to mark the discordant music,

heralding a black-satin parasol surrounded by drum-shaped standards arranged in tiers, pagoda-wise.

This pagoda arrangement of everything has a mysti-

cal meaning. Standards of all sorts are arranged

in this way, graduating in size, in certain symbolic

numbers, three, seven, or nine. These standards

are on the coinage and on the royal seal. Theroyal crown, and that of the crown prince, are

formed on the same plan. The ornaments are all

said to be symbolical : the five pagodas of the Watin the cremation-ground are so, viz., of the four

cremated princes and the king.

Surrounded by these standards is borne a lofty

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 123

golden car, with a priest sitting in it under an

umbrella. This priest is the king's brother; he is

a priest for life. All the Siamese men above a

certain grade have to enter the priesthood at some

time of their lives, and may remain in it as long

as they please. The king himself was a priest for

a year before he came to the throne.

Another dignitary, a child, is carried past us on a

chair, and another, followed by men in red drawing

the state catafalques, "with the bodies of the princes,

the deceased ChowFa and his brother, the two funeral

cars connected by a long silver ribbon, or breadth

of silver tissue very costly. These are followed by

more pagoda-standards and men in white, with red

flowers, and a lesser car with urns containing the

ashes of former cremated kings and princes of the

dynasty. The approach of three other cars, bearing

white figures with banners, preludes a movementonwards on the part of the populace, who accom-

pany the bearers of innumerable arks containing

presents to the priests. There are hundreds of

these. The living figures clothed in white on the

cars represent angels ; they are all, and must be,

men of the royal family, grandsons of a king.

Behind these cars are borne very tall pagoda-

standards, like may-poles, closing the procession.

A native Siamese on a tricycle, swallowing the dust,

brings up the rear.

These two bodies which have been borne in proces-

sion to-daywill be cremated together on Monda3^next;

the bodies of the two princesses will be burnt a weeklater. The whole ceremonial is to occupy a fortnight.

124 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

It is now eleven a.m., and the queen, dressed

all in black, has left the royal gallery ; the royal

ladies in black and white, with black satin parasols,

are moving away too ; and the king's golden chair is

taken away.

The impression left by this display on the thought-

less or uninstructed mind is a mixture of the theatre

and the motley muddle of a fancy ball. The Duke

quotes the famous Scotchman in Punch., who says,

' I don't care much for dancing, nor much for

dinners, but for real enjoyment give me a thorough

good funeral.'

The spirited royal ponies, chiefly piebald, are

being led back. The royal ladies in our gallery

depart, trying all they can to get away unnoticed.

The gentlemen were very careful not to go too near

them, but I sat by them talking. They showed

their goodwill, and their betel-blackened teeth j in

smiles and signs ; but conversation languished, and

I returned to chat and eat ices with our own party

and Mr. Michell's friends, pleasant English people

living in Bangkok. Mr. Michell showed us his

drawings of the native birds, and two specimens

of the Siamese fighting fish that he keeps separate;

as, when he sets the glasses containing them to-

gether, they at once set up their backs and change

colour.

Several of the princes and courtiers stayed with

us until they should be called for duty at the king's

palace. These oflicials get a habit of waiting about,

loafing in a graceful or dancing-master-like manner.

While they are here, and while green coco-nuts are

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 125

being peeled, and their tops struck off for us to

taste the fresh coco-nut milk, we get all the infor-

mation we can obtain from j)ersons able to read the

native Siamese papers. We hear we cannot, in any

case, leave Bangkok before the spring-tide of the

27th of February. It will be hot weather bythen, as March is their hottest month. Though,

as regards the difference of seasons in Siam, I should

say that, while winter is the ' frying-pan,' summer is

the ' fire.' Yet for all the sun's glare, there are few

blind people to be seen in these crowds. Being a

moist climate, there is less dust than in manysouthern places.

We feel like people who have been to a wedding,

with the day left on their hands. After eating a

few banana ices and tasting some sala,—a horny fruit,

a cross between an armadillo, a lobster, and a Brazil

nut, too strong in flavour to be palateable,—weare eager to go curio-hunting, but we hear there

are no manufactories here, not even of pottery

;

they send their orders to China for nearly every-

thing, so the old enamelled terra-cotta ware, with

floral decorations, or figures of Buddha and lotus-

leaves, is now only to be found in museums. This

is a pity, as this pottery was not quite like Persian

nor Chinese; it was just Siamese. There are like-

wise no native silks : but if idle, the people are

respectable, for Prince Doctor tells us there are noSiamese thieves in Bangkok. True, as there are nomanufactures, there is the less temptation to steal.

The modern flat coinage was issued in Siam in

1862. A tical is the size of a florin, nominal value

126 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

half-a-crown ; five silver ticals are given for three

dollars. The old Siamese coinage of ticals, two

and four tical pieces, and half, quarter, and one

eighth of a tical, a sort of roUed-up balls of silver

•with a stamp thereon, have become rare, and are

therefore sought eagerly at high prices ; the larger

balls are mostly used as buttons to the white linen

jackets worn by gentlemen in the tropics. The

modern coinage is sent minted from London. The

silver is, by order from Siam, more heavily alloyed

than ours, therefore its value is depreciated when

carried out of the country. They still work a little

in silver, making kettles, bowls, and tazzas, or stands

for bowls in silver repousse, the outside engraved

with flowers, gilt or , gold lacquered by a peculiar

Siamese process, the spaces nielloed or filled in with

antimony.

When the tidal canals are dry, it is less agreeable

driving in Bangkok ; so at flow of tide in the com-

parative cool of the afternoon I took a drive with

young Mr. Swinn, the son of our chamberlain, an

intelligent youth of eighteen, who has been educated

in England, and who rubbed up his English con-

siderably during our stay in Bangkok. He says

there are nearly forty Siamese schoolboys in London.

There were eleven in the school he was at on

Hampstead Heath. It seems a grievous pity after

the young Siamese have been educated in England

to plunge them back into the semi-barbarism of the

native habits, and let them experience all the evils

of polygamy. Young Swinn does not smoke, nor

does he chew betel, he loathes it ; so does his father,

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 127

but he is obliged by his position at Court to con-

form to the customs of the country. Our chamber-

lain and his son are tall, large men,—for Siamese,

that is, who are mostly small and delicately made.

The gentlemen of our party—it is true they are

none of them under six feet high—look like a race

of giants among them.

We drove through the fields of rice and sugar-

canes, haunted by flocks of small black and white

birds, by a good level road between hedges during

part of the way, to a place called Sabratummawan,

a little beyond a castellated building called the

Crown Prince's palace. While the horses rested

unharnessed we tried to get into a neighbouring

wat (temple), crossing a broad ditch, almost a canal,

by means of a log of wood. Landing-steps leading

up from the ditch to the lych-gate show that

worshippers generally come up by boat to this watthrough the marshes of paddy and tapioca.

Mr. Swinn says they have a day answering to

our Sunday three times a month.

The temple gates are shut, but at last we find an

entrance, on making a circuit by way of the

houses of the temple attendants.

The temple is in a dilapidated state—nothing is

ever repaired in Siam, as the house falls so it mustlie—but in point of decoration it was the mostreally artistic of any temple I saw in Siam. Thegreen and blue mosaics inlaid in the cement weregood

;some gilt lotus-leaves with looking-glass ribs

were curious and clever ; a small bird on a lotus-

leaf, naturalistic and very pretty, went so far as to

128 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

remind me of some rough-and-ready efforts of the

early Italian artists ; the best bits even, dare I say it,

of the outer border decoration of the Ghiberti gates

of San Giovanni at Florence. Outside the wat are

curious figures of mythological animals, dragons,

smiling antelopes, and men apparently in transports

of fury. Round the doors is inlaid a green glass

mosaic work of lotus-plants with fish in the water and

birds among the lotuses branching up. As in Japan,' the lotus-flowers are an emblem of purity, righteous-

ness, and immortality.' This mosaic I can hardly

fancy to have been the work of Siamese artists, but

young Mr. Swinn did not know, he believed it was.

He was rather astonished at my admiration of it.

The decoration with small pieces of looking-glass is

sometimes seen in Burmese work, but all I have

seen has been barbaric compared with this.

We climbed into the dagoba, as it is called in Ceylon

and Burmah, the word is not used here ; in Siam

these stone buildings, a pagoda-shaped mixture of

forms, round, square, and spiral, are called Buddha's

tomb. This building always accompanies a wat,

the temple itself, which is generally built of woodprofusely coloured and inlaid. Within the precincts

of the dkgoba is always a bo-tree, Ftcus religiosa, the

tree sacred to Buddha, beneath which he sought and

found Nirvana.

Earthenware balustrades enamelled blue line the

very steep steps leading up to the Buddha's tomb,

and doors six inches thick guard the internally

small temple, where there is a model of Buddha's

foot, engraved as usual with symbols on the sole,

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 129

and an inner sanctuary where there is Buddha's re-

cliningfigu re in fine whitemarble, very highly finished

and polished like the antique statues. I have seen

Burmese images of this kind of white marble, but

this figure was not like the work of a Burmese

artist. In vain did I try to discover the origin of

this statue, or whence the marble came. Mr. Swinn

said ' it was found in the country here ;' but did he

know it for certain ? No one could T find whoconsidered this ruinous country temple Avorthy of a

thought. I tried to persuade Mr. Cobham, who ap-

preciates art, to visit this temple and give me his

opinion of it ; but there was so much else to be seen,

and the weather was so hot, that expeditions were

not to be lightly undertaken. Of course I could not

find a photograph of it. From the steps of the

dagoba we had a good view of the mosaic figures

in the coloured pediment, an equilateral triangle, of

the wat. These figures are merely archaic. Near

here is a large metal bell that they ring for worship.

The pepper-plant, Piper Betle^ whose leaves pre-

pared with lime they eat with the betel-nut, grew

in profusion outside the wat. I gathered a wild

straw-coloured lily and several plants new to me, as

we repassed the ' monkey bridge ' on our return to

the carriage at sunset. We returned by the bank

of one of the numerous canals, now full of water

and boats, bordered by the numerous lights of

bamboo dwellings half-hidden among the foliage,

and the lamps of small pagodas glimmering behind

the plantains and feathery bamboos, and home by

the lantern-lighted shops of the Chinese quarter,

K

130 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

where the people were preparing their supper, inter-

mingled with the flaring and more lurid lights of

those strange pandemonia, the Chinese gambling-

houses.

After dinner, which was usually at half-past seven,

the carriages were brought round again to take us

to the Premane, where the king was expecting us to

visit him.

The scene was like the Colonial Exhibition

gone mad; outside the Premane enclosure, the

wild and brilliant illuminations, the contorted tum-

bling and strange acting in the shows, and the

strong lights and shadows on the bewilderingly

varied population, made the maddest, merriest of

entertainments ; a transformation-scene at a panto-

mime is a composition, a masked ball is held in

coherence by the musical rhythm, this was like a

multiplication of these sights, fifty country fairs all

whirling together, held in no order save that of

universal good behaviour and good humour. I

neither saw nor heard of a single case of quarrelling

or drunkenness during the fourteen days and nights

that the festivity lasted. Naturally we could not

drive past the chevaiu'-de-frise barring the road for

the protection of the multitude, but our excellent

chamberlain, all in white for mourning, marshalled

us through the crowds to the comparatively quiet

enclosure of the Premane, to which to-night nonebut the king's family and guests were admitted.

Here we sat in full evening dress in the charming

gardens illuminated by lanterns with elephants

painted on them, and innumerable devices for effects

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 181

of light and colour. The Siamese seem particularly

clever at these displays. There was something to

arrest and stimulate the attention everywhere, the

whole scene was a strange mixture of civilization

and—no, not savagery, as some one carelessly ob-

served—nativery. The chalets were filled with

flowers, or birds, or softly whirring bands of Siamese

music, and the fanciful kiosks with every contrivance

for repose, refreshment, and conversation ; the wind-

ing paths were bordered by tall Chinese vases hold-

ing crotons and other tropical plants, alternately

with lesser but elegant pots filled with choice flowers.

An Oriental evening f^te at an Oriental botanic

garden, a fete within a fete. On a broad space of

turf the lucigen light was ready to be lighted ; the

Duke's engineers and several officers of the yacht

were ready in attendance, and Aleck the piper, in

full Highland dress, was to walk up and down play-

ing the pipes before the king. After tea had been

handed round, we, the Duke's party, were conducted

up to the head of a staircase on to a sort of balcony

where the king, in black, with all his brothers in

black, received us, Aleck piping below the while.

After shaking hands all round, the king presented

us ladies each with a fan painted with a view of the

Premane and the names of the four royal dead whowere to be cremated. He gave the Duke as a sou-

venir a valuable tea-service of the rare native Siamese

ware, enamelled on metal, on a round silver tray.

Then the king selected from a bowl of silver

sprays, tied with white ribbon, like bridal favours,

a spray for each of us, which he gracefully presented.

132 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

On each spray were three waxen balls, like coloured

fruits (blue and purple), containing each a sort of

lottery ticket, giving us three presents a-piece. The

whole reception was delightfully singular, fanciful,

and pretty. Though, like most Orientals, the king

has great sense of personal dignity, perhaps his grace

and good manners are his greatest distinction ; they

are so simple, besides, and so natural.

Yet Feridiin was not an angel, nor

Composed of musk and ambergris. By justice

And enlightenment he gained his fame.*

Then he presented to us the crown prince, aged

nine, and two others of his children, whom he called

through the curtained window of his private apart-

ments. These bright, lively children were all very

prettily mannered, and shook hands and spoke in

English. They wore round their top-knots of hair

above the forehead little chaplets of the small, white

mali-flower. The youngest boy—a darling of five

years old—the king told us, was learning English.

He replied to our ' How do you do ?' ' Tite well, I

tant you.' We were charmed with the child. I

asked him how old he was, but the dear little pet

was at a loss to answer. Kissing is not understood

in Siam, so Mr. Michell told us, when we wouldhave kissed the dear little prince who spoke so

prettily. Could it be taught by a competent pro-

fessor ? On retiring, after some talk with the king,

and looking at the charming view of the illuminated

grounds from above—the lucigen light extinguished

by this time—we were taken by some of the princes

* FiRDAUSI.

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 133

to look round the whole of the buildings in the

cremation ground, all made of paper and bamboo,

even where it looked like Italian palaces of white

marble. Prince Premier told me it was all to be

removed, or destroyed, after the cremation ceremony.

The bewildering idea to us was the purpose of the

whole thing—that this scene of pleasure was the

cremation-gro und.

Then we were taken up another staircase to the

kind of bazaar where they keep the presents which,

according to Siamese custom, the king distributes

to his guests and nobles on such occasions. Thefruit-balls were here plucked off our silver sprays,

opened, and presents found to match the numbers.

I received a very curious golden purse for Siamese

sovereigns, a set of gold studs reddened by special

native process with cinnabar (sulphide of mercury),

and a silver-gilt tea-kettle embossed with raised

figures in gold. This is a sign of nobility, like

the silver tea-pot embossed with gold that Sir J.

Bowring describes, ' that nobody might use unless

he were a noble.' I felt like a countess at least.

After duly admiring the French clocks, vases,

and bijouterie collected as presents to the native

multitude, we were taken across the plaited bamboo-

walk leading to the steps of the gilt and pasteboard

temple, to see the splendid shrines containing the

corpses of the princes, all of gold enriched witb

diamonds, placed on a resplendent golden altar

blaziug with light and dazzling with gems. Eight

kneeling figures in eastern armour support tall

pagoda-standards at the foot of the altar-steps, which

13-i HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

rise in a pyramid of lamps and offerings of flowers in

golden vases. The long silver ribbon borne between

the coffins in the procession passes up the centre

of the steps, between the shrines, to the altar, and

the remainder lies folded in a pile on an elaborately-

wrought stand between the kneeling standard-

bearers. The whole chancel is hung with rich and

strange tissues, draperies and pictures, and the outer

walls with gorgeous eastern carpets of great size,

woven in silk and gold. A full description of the

decorations and upholstery would require a volume

to itself to explain the forms, arrangements, and

the meanings thereof. The whole magnificence is

laden with mystery, ' hints haunt us ever of a

more beyond,' and the air is laden with the heavy

night-scented temple-flowers (plumeria acutifolia)

and incense of the ceremonies and of the heated

earth.

From this chapelle ardente we walked through the

ranks ofprostrate worshippers and between the bodies

of sleeping attendants of the priests to our carriages,

which we never should have found without our cham-berlain and others, and drove home, to vainly try to

sleep and rest. We can get so very little sleep here in

Bangkok for the noises of the night—trumpets andthe ringing of multitudinous pagoda-bells proclaim

the last hour of day, midnight, and from that time

cannons are booming, guns popping, bells and cym-bals clashing, tom-toms drumming, owls, cats, andbrats crying, and excited people gambling nearly all

night. One's rooms are wide open to the air, andthe cock-crowing and the constant passing of bands

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 135

of national or military music make one foreswear all

love of serenades from this time forth.

' The time is good, the habit p'raps romantic,

But tending, if pursued, to drive the neighbours frantic'

Ten o'clock was the time fixed for our visit to the

temples in the royal enclosure and the famous

white elephants. We were already tired, and if wecould have got out of seeing these sights we would

gladly, but for very shame, have done so. Thethought of ' What will they say in England, where

they don't feel the heat ?' goaded us on, and at length

we summoned up resolution, and went, sallying

forth in a body for mutual moral support to the

palace grounds. It was extremely hot, I may have

remarked this before ; it was so true as to become a

truism. We took refuge in a large painted cloister,

but as the queen was then at her devotions in an

adjoining chapel, we were taken first to see the

celebrated white elephants, and saw five so-called

white elephants. Albino is what is meant, but wehave translated it as white. The pink eye is the true

distinction of a white elephant. The animals stood,

each in a separate building, on a platform under a

red canopy. Their forelegs are hobbled, they are

fastened also by the hind-leg to a gilt and painted

column, very strong. They are fed on small bundles

of grass, and bananas are given as a relish. Wefed them with plenty of both sorts of food. It is an

unhappy life for the poor beasts, who never moveexcept when led out for a walk in the morning.

They are not white, nor even very pale excepting

about the ears. One aged creature had his tusks

136 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

SO long that they were twisted over each other and

ahnost rested on the ground. One very large

ancient elephant, the whitest of the lot, perhaps

white with age, they gave us to understand it was

over ninety years old, actually mouldy with age and

ghastly with decrepitude, had to be supported by

girths of rope to keep it from falling. It could

never have raised itself had it once fallen, and all

the king's horses and all the king's men could not

have set it up again. The Buddhist religion forbids

their putting a bullet through it and ending this

long-suffering existence. I have seen in a home

newspaper a paragraph to the effect that we were

permitted to visit the white elephants which one of

the party describes as 'mangy frauds.' I did not

hear this remark made, nor do any of us own to it.

But it does not indicate powerful imagination on

the part of the writer of the paragraph.

Oh, the broiling heat of the noontide sun on

those flagstones ! and oh, the indomitable British

energy in sight-seeing that endures it ! How wecrept along by the narrow shadows under the walls

and eaves, and oh, how narrow were those strips of

comfort, ribbons of bliss ! It was an effort even to

look up at the numerous gaudily-coloured wats and

walls, some of glittering mosaic coarse but effective,

some of bold rosettes and imitations of flowers in

earthenware applied in patterns, wild and pictur-

esque certainly, and highly decorated, but nothing

in the whole sumptuous precinct can compare in

really artistic feeling with the decaying temple of

Sabratummawan out among the rice-fields ; indeed,

man life in asm. 137

as art these Bangkok Avats are scarcely worth

looking at, though the ethnologist and sociologist

might speculate and moralize for ever upon these

developments. The newest built wats are in worse

taste than the older ones ; barbaric enrichment can

go no farther : it is with them as with European art

in the age of Louis Quinze, a meaningless reiteration

of certain forms, loaded on with no real feeling for

beauty even in their arrangement. The taste, the

fashion must change and something better may be

evolved. These wats will drop to decay, and if

new ones are erected they will be built in an alto-

gether different style. Let all who wish to see

Siam go as speedily as possible, for it is in a transi-

tion state : one generation will suffice to change

all this phantasmagoria into something perhaps

no better, certainly less exotic, but altogether

different. To-day there is but one Siam, it has a

character of its own, as distinct as that of China or

Egypt, more so than anywhere else.

Wewerele'd to thedoorof the Museum, a renaissance

building whose incongruity with the rest of the struc-

tures only adds to the charming embroilment of ideas

we find throughout this most bewildering of capitals.

The key had to be sent from a distance, of course;

few people visit the museum. These lesser museumsare always the chiffonniers of a locality, the shove-

in-heres, where rubbish may be shot. As there are

things suitable for presents, so there are things

suitable for museums, objects that nobody wants.

Some Oriental grandee once gave the Duke of

Sutherland a large sapphire, a shapeless lump of

138 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

azure, ' of no value,' said the giver, ' only fit for a

museum;' the Duke, being fairly well off, could

afford to have it bejewellered into an ornament, the

admiration of everybody; but most people can do

nothing with bulky, unset treasures, save endow a

museum with the same.

We had time for moral reflections as we sat in

the portico, the Duke on the raised seat of the pillar

post-box, Lady Clare and I on a rickety chair

brought from a sentry-box, Mr. Cobham and Mr.

Michell on a flat Runic stone, written in Sanscrit

character, that reminded us of Scandinavia : not

the only coincidence with those northern lands.

Carl Bock has pointed out the exact resemblance of

some of the wooden wat roofs to the old Norwegian

timber churches of Hallingdal and elsewhere. Later

on I shall speak of the identity of the Siamese

(Laosian) native bag-pipes with those of Scotland.

Natives, some of them soldiers in full undress,

some of them ragged dervishes probably, were lying

about in all directions on the steps, on the grass, or

on inches of shade, waiting to be stepped on maybe.

The soldiers with their arms stacked and selves

lying about in shady angles are merely palace-

guards, not representing a military force save in the

bad French cut of their uniform. There is no army

in our sense of the word. They are good marks-

men, I have heard, but this handful is no defence to

the country ; a weak army is worse than no army at

all in a buffer nation. Siam is a kid amongst wolves.

These gentle, peaceful people should be allowed to

develop themselves independently ; we do not want

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 139

to annex them, they are good neighbours to British

Burmah ; we should prefer to keep them as good,

independent neighbours, but we cannot permit the

French to annex or protect them ; if the French

threaten their independence, it may become our

duty to take the Siamese under our protection.

They are shy of the proposed railway from Bang-

kok to Raheng, a town about two hundred miles upthe Menam river (one of the divers railway-schemes

floating in the air), which would meet the projected

main line from Moulmein to China, because they

know we could pour by it, at any moment, British

troops into Bangkok. So the sleek, silky Siamese

fence oif the question with the Duke, whose opinion

is in favour of this line, and Mr. Swan, the engineer,

pretending to long for advancement and the rail-

ways, while really loathing and dreading them in

their hearts. Prince Devan, when in England, en-

treated the Duke to come out to Siam and bring out

a competent engineer, and now they will not even

talk about this railway-scheme. ' In this climate it

doesn't pay to do things in a hurry,' says the yacht's

sage head-steward, and they think the same. Aprfes

moi le—railway—thinks Prince Premier, a young-

ish man too, not yet thirty-five.

The Siamese is polite and professes to love ad-

vancement and cherish telegraphs, electric light,

&c., but scratch the skin and you will find under it a

hatred of everything European. They only want to be

left alone. This, at least, is the opinion of long resi-

dents here. It seems ludicrous in me to have formed

any opinion at all, in my very short knowledge of

140 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

the country, but I can hardly help writing about

this, as I was in the centre of all the talk, native

and European. The Straits Times remarks: 'Siam

has gone on her usual way ; the leading statesmen

and their servants talk a good deal about progress,

in fact so much is talked that it looks as if they did

not know where to begin.' The king, absolute

monarch as he is, hardly dares move in the direction

of western ideas because of the Tory body of the

elder nobles, who view all progress with a jealous

eye.

The Duke of Sutherland advocates the line to

Raheng, with the future connection with Moulmein.

The Siamese do not desire this junction with the

projected main line to China, as they would be left

out in the cold when India and China are commer-

cially connected by a trunk line. They shrewdly

think that railway communication between India

and China will be to Chinese advantage rather than

to theirs. ' Burmah is our gate to China, the barrier

which blocked our approach from the Indian littoral

has been broken down, and therefore our north-

eastern Indian frontier is of vastly greater commer-

cial importance to us than our north-western one,'*

which is mainly strategic and political.

The Siamese do not cotton to the idea of the

Raheng railway at all. Prince Doctor tells me all

the merchandise from thence can easily come downthe river, and, being ' sparsely peopled,' (his very

words), very little merchandise is likely to go up.

* Colquhoun's report on the railway connection of Burmah and

China. Exploration survey by Holt and Hallett.

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 141

They see—and say—that, of course, the English

favour that line because of the possible and easy

connection with Moulmein ; this of itself is enough

to make them timid.

If raihvays are to be made in Siam, a necessary

evil, thinks Prince Doctor, the most useful and most

paying lines in his opinion would be made in their

eastern territory.

' What, to connect Siam Avith French territory ?'

' Oh, dear no, but to develop the eastern andhighly populous districts of Siam, which need

development.'

This would put off the evil day, too, as this district

is not yet surveyed for railways. It will take wild faith

in a future and much talkee-talkee to create the

Siamese railways. In railway-planning, in the East

especially, there are two main considei'ations—the

through traffic and the local traffic; two widely

different interests. Then there are the markets

(Colquhoun carefully marks the distinction), imme-diate, those now ready for opening and markets of

the future, those requiring education in civilized

wants.

In Siam there would be none of the burial-

ground difficulty that there is in China with the

railway, where the line threatens the vested inter-

ests of the tomb. Cremation being general here,

the ashes of the dead are preserved in urns ; while

the poorer Siamese are devoured after death bybirds of prey, or their ashes washed to the ends of

the earth by the rivers.

' Time was,' says Sir John Bowring, ' when

142 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

Bangkok occupied the third place among the com-

mercial cities to the east of the Cape of Good Hope—first Calcutta, second Canton.' Siam has folded

its hands to sleep, and been forgotten. In the

centre of a chain of railways, Bangkok might again

occupy her former position with Calcutta and Can-

ton. Meanwhile, as Colquhoun says, ' a population

reckoned categorically at some one hundred and

eleven millions and a half of people is as yet hardly

touched by our commerce.' A census of the menof Siam proper, taken about thirty years ago, com-

puted these at about eight millions, which would

make twenty millions a low estimate of the whole

population. Mr. M'Carthy, however, thinks ten

millions would be beyond the mark. The popula-

tion of Bangkok is variously estimated at from

three hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand

inhabitants. Several Europeans, Sir Andrew Clarke

at the head of them, are here, besieging the king

for railway concessions. The king's idea is, ' Siam

far^ da se,' and he wishes to keep the railway-

schemes, if inevitable, in his own hands ; and thus

to introduce them very gradually. In the mean-

time, he makes the cremation festivities an excuse

for postponing the question until the foreigners are

gone.

' The real interests of the country are postponed

to these childish shows, relics of barbarism,' say the

prosaic promoters, peevishly.

Perhaps as true a statement of the case as any,

in the Siamese view of it, may be seen in the

following translation from an inspired native news-

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 143

paper, the SakyahnJca, of a forniglit earlier date,

(2Sth of January, 1888), before Sir Andrew Clarke

had won his railway concession from the king.

Ideas of tense are still unsettled in Siamese gram-

mar :

'They compare railways with Indra's flower, as theycan be carried away in a moment everywhere ' (? Only to

one place on a line), ' and those who want to use moreprosaic language must still say that it is the most superior

conveyance that can be devised.' Thus the inhabitants of Chieng-mai or Korat may be

able to eat fresh plather,' (a sort of fish) ' which are sentby railway from Paknam in five, or at the most six hours,

as soon as the line is constructed. As soon as railwayswill be constructed, people will settle in their neighbour-hood, where these is now nothing but jungle or wasteland, and if the people thus settle there will be cultivatedland in places which are now the abode of tigers, elephants,

and other animals.' If now people Kving in the provinces wish to proceed

to Bangkok, or if they have to go on account of thecorvee, they have to encounter great difficulties. Theymust provide themselves with food, as they will be a longwhile on the journey, which must be performed in boats

:

they have to break up their homesteads, to abandon their

fields, and if they have bad conveyances there is still moretrouble for them. If, however, railways are constructed,then, like angels, people will be able to leave their home,return to it, sell their goods in Bangkok or other places,

buy others, all in one day ; and this will be of the greatestbenefit. In enumerating the benefits we do not knowwhere to stop, and we shall therefore shortly say: Rail-ways must be constructed in Siam, as their constructionwill contribute to the welfare of Siam in opening trade,increasing the revenue by collecting the duty on themerchandise, and their construction will contribute tothe people, who will dispose quickly of their merchandise,and will be able to proceed easily from one place to theother, as if they were flying or carried through air .... Ifwe read the history of the reign of His present Majestyduring the twenty years he has now reigned, we must say

144 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

that Siam has travelled on the way of progress and pros-perity, and has made the greatest strides, and, if we couldmeasure the progress Siam has made, we should say it hadtravelled on the way of progress many hundred thousandmiles, and it does not stop, as His Majesty, our augustsovereign, is always endeavouring, and is never weary,to devise and think of means to promote the welfare of

his country and the people. What he thinks is necessaryfor the welfare of the people he institutes by his gi'ace

and at the proper time. Now steamers are running every-where : we have got the divine ear by which we can hearthe speech of the whole world : i.e., we have telegraphsand telephones, through which we are in connection withthe whole world : we have mail communication, by whichpeople are enabled to correspond with each other. Weshall now have railways, as His Majesty, in his greatwisdom, has seen that they will be of greatest benefit toall. We, however, who are endowed VTith faith, trust, andgratitude, should be ever thankful to His Majesty thatwe shall be ever increasing in welfare by the grace of HisMajesty.'

The reader has waited long enough for the keyand admission to the museum, but we were loth to

leave our seats in the shade. All our thought wasto do our duty, and get the sight-seeing over. Wewere like a naughty boy at his lessons. He does

not really love them, nor did we, but the task hadto be done. I heard Lady Clare mutter, * Oh, bliss !

we shall have done it, balmy thought.' This ex-

pedition has been hanging over our heads, ready to

drop its dead weight upon us any day. Mr. Swanfeigned a press of work, and stayed at home:The museum is small and neatly arranged with a

very mixed collection, chiefly of Siamese objects.

They have a native bird of paradise in Siam. Thishas been disputed, but here is the bird, and they

assured me it was native. Here is a Siamese long-

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 115

haired bear, with much likeness to the glutton. Here

are models under glass shades of the legendary flying

elephants, ponderous-looking objects a-sprawling in

the sky of cotton-wool clouds, assisting in the air at

the fight of the gods and the fiends. Oh, such

fiends ! The native fancy runs riot in fiends of all

sorts : thus they image out their sensation stories.

There is a large carved elephant tusk with a

curious natural twist. The Siamese have a great

fancy for any form of monstrosity ; we Aryan races

care most for the perfect normal type in everything :

as perfection is never reached through monstrosity.

Here are many specimens of old Siamese pottery,

chiefly bowls for rice and curry, of blue or enamelled

ware : the manufactures that have now died out.

' Here are our Highland pipes,' said Prince

Doctor, showing me an elegant form of Pandean

pipes in a long bundle of a dozen or more of reeds.

But they have pipes nearer like the Highland

bagpipes.

After walking through the museum, the queen

having ended her devotions, we went round the

pictured cloister where Siamese legends of all kinds

are crudely painted on the walls ; here were the

flying elephants in full swing, and demons to which

ours of the Middle Ages are very angels.

Half-killed but unconquered we still went on,

determined to complete our task. We approached

another and a famous temple—lo, its doors were

shut—it seemed a reprieve ; it was so hot that weall in our souls wished to give it up, but the keys

were sought. We sat awhile on the steps of a

L

146 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

cloister in the shade listening to the tinkling bells

fringing the eaves of the wats, gilt bells with the

clapper formed of a gilt leaf which swayed with the

faintest breeze. The Abyssinian calotropis, like that

I gathered at Massowah, was here growing in the

gardens at the angles of the temples. The court-

yards of these wats are paved, the steps are

frequently of marble, and there are many figures of

the drollest modern statuary standing about, some

images in modern dress with the quaintest stiffness,

yet reality about them ; one of therii, a very stocky

figure, seems to be a portrait model of the late Em-peror Napoleon by a Siamese sculptor. In showing

pictures of these sculptured figures in a photograph

one has to mention that they are marble. Nature

has been exactly copied, yet Art is not the result.

Throughout these sacred and royal precincts there

is gold, colour, and picturesqueness, but no fine art.

We entered the temple of the Emerald Buddha^ a

recently built wat, covered with many tinkling

bells. The sacred image, made of the precious pale

green jade, is seated very high above a mass of

gold and splendour set with precious stones. Thereare numerous figures of Buddha and lamps aboutthe shrine, with joss-sticks burning, and ofi'ering offlowers before the altars. Even here is no real art,

though the walls are covered with gaudy painting.

The best things are the doors and shutters offine mother-o'-pearl work inlaid on black, a nativeSiamese art very little pursued now-a-days.

Are the people grown frivolous or too greedy to

work at what involves patience? No, it seems

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA. 147

these hordes have not yet ' grown European-hearted,'

and care little for lucre, though the women, whoare chiefly the money.-makers, frequent the Chinese

gambling-houses. The men are for the most part

indolent ; everything grows of itself to supply their

few wants, and there are so few necessaries of life.

It is a pity to see their elegant arts and handicrafts

dying out.

Standing outside this temple of the Emerald

Buddha are two white marble statues of Portuguese

or Italian work, male and female saints, which were

dug up in the ancient capital Ayuthia. They seem

to be of St. Francis Xavier's time. One of them looks

like St. Andrew, but without the cross. The Portu-

guese have left in Siam remarkable vestiges of their

influence, and even Christian descendants of converts.

The Dutch never went to Siam to convert anybody or

anything except, as Sir J. Bowring says, ' men and

merchandise into money.' No traces of the Dutchsojourn remain except some ruins of their factories.

We were next conducted to a still more recently

constructed temple, built for the purpose of bring-

ing the revered 'and famous crystal Buddha here;

but to move the image, which now sanctifies an in-

significant wat, would be of ill omen and would

briug misfortune on the movers, so no one dares to

do it, therefore this wat is not consecrated as a temple

for worship. The fretted diaper work of the external

walls is of steel and gilt, looking like gilded mirrors;

the interior is frescoed after the Siamese fashion

like the painted cloister. Here is an extremely fine

shrine composed of the native pearl and black

l2

Ii8 HIGH LIFE IN ASIA.

inlaid-work, their speciality. There are fine specimens

of the pilgrim's palm growing outside these temples.

After we had climbed up many more steep steps

of pagodas—the steps are sometimes more than

eighteen inches in the rise—and broiled us in white

marble colonnades carved with flowers in very low

relief, we feltwehad fairly done the sight-seeing; there

are plenty more temples and palaces in the enclosure,

but we had seen the principal ones, and had enough

of it. The terraces of the palace where the queen

lives are decorated with large incense vases of bronze,

the dark colour and graceful forms of which stand

out in beautiful relief against the white marble of

the palace. The palaces mostly have fanciful

names ; one is called the Rose-planting House, andanother is styled the Royal Palace of the Invincible

and Beautiful Archangel.* We had earned ourplay, or, better still, in this climate, the pleasure of

seeing other people play ; so in a long room belowthe vestibule of our palace we watched the native

servants playing at ball, cleverly catching a light

wickerwork ball and knocking it back with their

heads, feet, backs, knees, anything. Their wild,

lithe, active movements were entertaining andgraceful. This was a relaxation to us.

I was too tired to attend Mr. Michell's usualSaturday afternoon reception, so I rested in the

cool grey marble vestibule until I saw the carriages

and the scarlet liveries at the gates beyond the

courtyard at the foot of the steep stairs. At five

o'clock we usually went for a drive. Steep stairs

* Leonowens.

HIGH LIFE IN ASIA

.

1 19

are the custom here ; the temples have them horri-

bly steep ; they are easy steps that are only the

height of a dining-room chair. I have mounted

some that are more like tables piled on each other.

Why the staircases are so steep, and Avhy one lives

on the first floor, is because the Siamese are so ac-

customed to mount steep ladders to get in to their

stilted houses. It is funny to see the coachmen,

Avho are mostly waiting all day at the gates, don

their red livery coats at our approach ; we some-

times see the footmen slipping their scarlet and gold

jackets on their bare brown backs. The sentry

stands and shoulders arms martially as we pass.

We went for a dusty drive on a very ill-kept road.

The drawbridges over the canals will impede the

laying of the tramway that some of the European

speculators here are anxious to get up a company

for. Apparently it would pay well, as the rough native

omnibuses are always loaded. Trams will not, it is

thought, succeed so well here as steamboats, because

of the bridges ; but still the roughness of the roads

prevents 'rickshas coming much into use, as the

men cannot easily run with them. The swing-bridges

here remind one of those of Holland, but they cause

a greater jerk to the carriages.

160

CHAPTER VI.

YOUNG SIAM.

They who to gather roses came, weat back

With precious gems and honorary robes;

And two bright finger-rings were secretly

Sent to the princess.

FlEDAUSI.

Me. Gladstone in the Contemporary Review (1875)

speaks of oriental work and art as that ' vast and

diversified region of human life and action where a

distinct purpose of utility is pursued, and where the

instrument employed aspires to an outward form of

beauty. Here lies the great mass and substance of

the Kunst-leben, the art-life of a people.'

Big, big, portentous, but fine words to begin a

chapter with, as Count Smorltork says, and I would

use such or similar words were I writing a regular

and exhaustive treatise on the country, such as a

fortnight's stay scarcely qualifies me to do, even with

native or English people always about me to tell mehow to think, or were I writing a work called, say,

'The Sociologist in Siam ;' and yet I do not knowwhat to think about the outward forms of beauty

aspired to in eastern art, when I remember their mul-

YOUNG 81AM. 151

titudinous representations of demons, diws, or dives.

These are generally represented in human shape with

horns, long ears, and sometimes with a tail, as Lord

Monboddo says, ' depending from their gable ends.'

Perhaps, considering the heat, I had better go on

in my easy slipshod way.

I was glad that we all resolved on making a rest-

day of Sunday—^indeed, we needed it. There is a

small church here where service is performed in

English. The congregation is mostly American.

Prince Doctor brought me a flower of a beautiful

orchid, the dendrobium Fredericksonii, yellow, with

a purple eye, a novelty ; only six plants of it haye

been sent to England, or even to Europe.

They have arranged a very nice plan for us to

visit Ayuthia, the ancient capital of Siara ; we are

to be carried forty miles farther up the river in a

royal yacht of light draught, and we are to go the

remaining ten miles in a steam-launch, and comeback the second or third day, according as we like.

In the afternoon, the Duke and I, with the chamber-

lain's son, drove to the pier and took the steam-launch

to the yacht, where I wanted to gather together

some picture-books and other things as presents for

the little princes. The steward took ' young cham-berlain ' under his protection, and showed him the

yacht, with the firearms, engines, animals, &c.

The river was animated as ever with the various

boats and busy traffic, the spired shores, veiled in

fresh green foliage, a setting to the brilliant picture

of life on the sparkling waters. ' Young chamber-

lain ' is talkative enough when with me, though he

152 YOUNG SIAM.

sits like a mute at table. He pointed out the police-

boat, which is also a prison, and the water-works—for water is laid on in Bangkok. The royal palace

enclosure has its own water-works. Though it is

said there are no Siamese thieves, I now hear that

there are plenty of burglars, especially river-bur-

glars, in Bangkok.

No Europeans are permitted to visit the prisons.

The Siamese rulers avow themselves conservative of

their old traditions, and do not wish to follow our

plan of petting our prisoners and making the prison

a comfortable hotel for the idle poor. They think

people who have committed crime ought not to find

things comfortable. And yet they are a kind-

hearted, gentle race.

' We think differently from you,' they say. ' If

you want to describe them you must do it from

fancy, but you sha'n't see our prisons ; we won't

have you printing these things from actual observa-

tion ; the prisons are not attractive—they smell badtoo.'

We often see, in passing from the river to our

palace, gangs of prisoners in chains working or

walking. Some of the basket-work made by the

prisoners is admirable and wonderful, considering

that they are not allowed the use of knives nor anytools but bits of glass. There is a stall for the sale

of this work near the Wat Poh, where I boughtsome specimens of neat workmanship.

We steamed on to the Oriental Hotel, which hadonly been open the last nine months ; for the last

four months it had been quite full all the time.

YOUNG SIAM. 163

Travellers are like vultures for scenting out comfort-

able quarters. Hitherto the hotel accommodation in

Bangkok had been extremely poor. Here we chat-

ted with Commodore Richelieu of the Siamese royal

navy, really a small force of sixteen steamers com-

manded by Englishmen, but apparently consisting

of the royal yacht Vesatri. We got upon the subject

of prisons again ; the Duke is interested in prisons,

but a cloud hangs over the prison discipline of Siam,

and the commodore had little besides hearsay to

tell us. It is creditably believed that eight prison-

ers die per diem in Siam. In one place where three

hundred prisoners were confined, one hundred and

thirty of their number died in a very short time.

This is vague, I know, but vague is the information

that one gets.

We were told of a prisoner confined under a light

sentence—indeed, he was supposed to be innocent.

Well, the man was forgotten, an awful reflection,

and he died in prison. The body was left there un-

buried for days—in that climate !—in this way.

The ofiicial who had recorded the case was away, so

his underling said, ' Ah, seven years ' (or one year

as it might be). ' My chief's away. I must write

to the so-and-so department.' Well, they were

away. ' Report the death, then, to the governor of

the jail, he can't be away.' No, nor was he. ' But,'

said the governor, when the matter was brought

before him, ' I must wait till my clerk returns whohas the papers about the case.' Thus the man was

left there unburied for four days. A European

officer said he knew, from personal knowledge,

154 YOUNG SIAM.

several of such cases. It is said that, in the prisons,

nearly half the inmates are slaves expiating volun-

tarily or for pay the wrong-doings of their masters

or mistresses.

Mr. Michell joined us at the hotel, and westeamed on past the Club, from the verandah of

which many gentlemen enjojdng Sunday afternoon

saluted the Duke in passing. The natives were

flying kites of every hue and form, a popular amuse-

ment in Siam as it is in China. We passed the rest

of our party out shopping at the riverside shops,

and continued our course down stream. They still

found curio-hunting a delusion. For all that wehad dreamt of Siamese treasures we found very few,

and wished we had bought more pretty things

before. 'Never mind,' now Ave all said, 'we shall

return home by Ceylon—that is the place for buyingreally good things.'

Mr. Michell, an Oxford man who used to rowin the University eight, astonishes the natives byhis skill with the oar; he had a small boat of

his own with him to-day, we towed it on. The Dukeadmired the fine lines of some of the native-built

boats. 'Yes,' Mr. Michell said, 'when they onceget hold of a good model they can build from it

wonderfully well.' Their gondolas are modelled onthe Venetian.

How quaint are the large Chinese vessels withtheir sham cannon, sails of matting, and great eyespainted on the stern.

We passed a singular vessel with one paddle-wheelat the stern, of only eighteen inches draught, they

YOUNG SiAM. 155

say, built to go one hundred miles up the river ; she

went three trips successfully in the last rainy season.

They are getting up a flotilla company to run penny

steamers in Bangkok. 'They will not pay just at

first, perhaps,' says Mr. Michell, ' but ultimately the

people mil find them an immense convenience, as, for

three months of the year, the tide sets always one

way, and it is laborious to pull heavy boats against

it.' The Siamese are not fond of labour. The flotilla

company here will have less difficulty about their

landings (piers) than the Irrawady steamboat com-

pany in Burmah, as the shore is firmer here and does

not break away ; but the success of that scheme en-

courages the promoters of the Bangkok flotilla

company.

There is a dock company here, of which Captain

Bush, R.N., is manager and proprietor. A good

company, thinks Mr. Michell, but some people are

of opinion that it might be re-modelled and de-

veloped. The river, so far, does duty for public

baths and wash-houses. The Siamese are very

cleanly in their persons ; they bathe three times a

day ; the children swim like fish, and even tiny mites,

almost babies, will handle a boat very readily. The

men look dandy too with a cigarette stuck behind the

ear, reminding one of Spain. The Siamese cigarette

is strong ; it is rolled in a lotus-leaf instead of paper.

Beggars are hardly ever met with in Siam. This

is the one land where people do not want nor care

for money; they are not even eager to sell the

goods in their shops. Prisoners for debt are the

only Siamese men who really work, save the king

156 YOUNG SIAM.

and his Minister for Foreign AfFairs. The people

do not naturally covet money, but they will soon

learn to do so from the Europeans and Chinese.

These people are as yet unspoilt by tourists, though

they are learning to gamble. The gambling-houses

bring four thousand catties, or thirty thousand

pounds annual revenue to the government. One

gambling-house pays a tax of one thousand pounds.

So of course they will not be discouraged any more

than our public-houses at home. The royal ele-

phant, or Siamese catty, is eighty ticals, about eight

pounds ; the actual coin is rarely seen. The women,

who hold their own earnings independently of the

men, gamble most, so I am told; I had few oppor-

tunities of seeing it.

The Siamese women are finer than the men, they

do all the work and develop their muscles. The

Siamese men do a little clearing, but the womendo the actual cultivation of the ground. Besides

being fine in build, some of the women are very

good-looking; one woman T saw who was really

handsome, indeed a splendid-looking creature. The

upper classes have a curious idea of grace in bring-

ing their left elbow forward and bending it in an

unnatural direction as far as possible.

We were taken to call on some agreeable friends

of Mr. Michell, that we might see the singular but

convenient way in which several families live here;

a sort of floating-house, with drawing-room, dining-

room, and bed-rooms all built on the flat deck of a

great barge moored to the shore ; as this was a large

English family they had additional bed-rooms and

YOUNG SIAM. 157

bath-rooms on a second barge, and both were moored

together. The ladies did not complain of being more

troubled by mosquitoes than we on shore, and as it

is always summer here the arrangement looked ex-

tremely comfortable. A large proportion of the

inhabitants of Siam live in floating-houses.

The crimson of sunset was dying gloriously in the

purple of evening as we returned up the river to

take the carriage at the landing-place by the Royal

Nautical School.

Our beloved ' Lappy ' has turned up again ; he

swam back to the yacht, lean but thankful, after

four days' absence. We rejoiced over our prodigal,

but sensible and intelligent, doggie. There is one

case of hydrophobia noted in the Siam Directory in

this its eleventh year of annual publication.

Monday, the 20th of February, was one of the

great days of the ' royal festivities !' for so they are

styled ; the cremation proper, fixed for five o'clock

:

a sensible hour, when the air is getting cool. TheSiam Directory tells us that the princess whosecremation we first heard of (before leaving England)

was Her Royal Highness Mom Chow Sawab'aknari-

ratu, one of the wives of His Majesty the King. Shedied July 21st, 1887. The other princes, children

of the king and queen, are His Royal Highness

Somdetch Chow-fa Siri Rajakukutb'andh, who died

May 31st, 1887, aged one year and six months;Her Royal Highness Somdetch Chow-fa Bhahura-

tumimai, died August 27th, 1887, aged eight years

and eight months ; His Royal Highness Somdetch

Chow-fa Treepejrutone Damrong, &c., &c., the

158 YOUNG HIAM.

thirty-ninth son of His Majesty, died November

22nd, 1887, aged five years.

I dressed myself in black silk, with black lace

bonnet and shawl, jetted ribbons and black gloves,

for Court mourning, as the Siamese officials are

wearing white panungs, that is the silk breeches,

which are usually coloured. Black is worn as mourn-

ing by seniors to the deceased and by men of

superior rank, white by juniors and inferiors : thus

our chamberlain and Prince Doctor (Yai) wear

white panungs ; the Crown Prince also wears white

as junior to the deceased princess.

Princely title dies out in the third generation—

a

very sensible arrangement—the son and grandson

of a king are princes ; after that a title distinguishes

them as being of royal birth, but they are not

princes. This system is necessary in a country

where a king's consideration is determined by the

number of wives he can afford to keep, an idea

analogous to our social status being determined bythe number of servants we keep.

The Duke and the rest of the gentlemen, with

many sighs, braced themselves into uniform or lev4e

dress ; the heavy gold embroidery of the coats and

collars is quite a martyrdom. ' Ilfaut souffrir,' &c.;

one does indeed suffer in these climates for being

fine.

We drove as far as the chevaux-de-frise near the

Premane, which we had not previously seen by day-

light, and, following our chamberlain through the

crowd,'', were soon seated in a large room with a

raised floor, some irreverently called it a barn, with

YOUNG SIAM. 169

the European residents who were invited to the

ceremony. From this place we, as His Majesty's

own especial guests, were led by the several royal

chamberlains to the reserved ground to hear the

native band, strings, bamboo harmonicas, and

drums, until called upon to assist in firing the

pyres. For some particulars, for I could not see

everything, I am indebted to the Bangkok Times.

' The spectacular efi^ect of the whole scene was

indeed gorgeous on this afternoon, the grand day,

with its glittering crowd of princes and nobles, His

Majesty seated on the raised dais, the numerous

and curiously built chalets, the trophies of flags

and other devices, the profusion of floral decorations,

&c., &c., all of which formed a picturesque pageant

that will linger for a long time in the memory of

those present.

' The grand-stand enclosure for the royal princes

was, of course, resplendent with uniforms and orders,'

—it looked like a big jeweller's shop-front—' andthat reserved for the European residents was filled

with a great concourse of people, all of whom wore

as bright '—save some, who sat, discontented andcritical, in the seat of the scornful, side by side with

the wrong people—' and merry ' (!)' an appearance

as the most ardent supporters of the festival could

possibly desire. In addition to these two stands,

there was the royal pavilion for His Majesty the

king, surrounded by guardsmen and attendants.

'As usual, a motley crowd of all nations under

the sun, which Bangkok alone can turn out, were

early upon the ground, and it required good super-

160 YOUNG SUM.

vision to keep them from surging too near in their

ardour to see everything. And there was, indeed,

a good deal to see ; for within the whole enclosure

there was not an uninteresting spot. Twenty-four

pavilions, kiosks, and chalets in all had been erected,

and, in their entire newness and fresh paint, the

whole appeared as part of some fairy city. Thepretty stalls, the multitude of flags waving in the

breeze, the fresh and glossy leaves of creepers

bursting through artificially-made hedges, the scent

of roses and other fragrant flowers, the margin of

a brook in a hollow lined with Avhat appeared to

be willows and watercresses, bees humming in the

air,' (!)' groves musical with birds,' (birds, yes

;

musical, no), ' the whole formed a scene to gloat on,

drink in, and enjoy.'

A branch of flowers and leaves, made of sandal-

wood, was presented to each of us—of the Duke of

Sutherland's party, I mean—for us to burn in the

cremation-urns. ' It is too pretty to burn,' said the

Duke. ' I shall carry mine home.' So said we all

;

but it was made an especial point that we should

burn these, and the chamberlain promised that weshould have some equally good specimens to take

home as mementoes.

The ceremony of the burning was the first event

to take place, at about five p.m., shortly after His

Majesty's arrival—and ours. The king was carried

in a gold chair, surrounded by about three hundred

attendants, dressed in all the variety of costume

incidental to the equipage of an eastern monarch.

The whole of the Corps Diplomatique and aU the

YOUNG SIAM. 161

royal princes and nobles were also present to receive

His Majesty, and immediately after his arrival the

king led the funeral cortege, and lit the sacred fire,

while the priests in attendance chanted Buddhist

hymns. As soon as the king retired, many of the

nearest relatives of the dead advanced, one after

another, and added a burning taper or a lighted rod

of incense to the funeral pile, and, after them, the

Europeans were invited to do the same.

We were led across the path of plaited bambooand up the stairs of the sacred Wat to the place of

cremation, where the two funeral pyres, with the

bodies of the two young princes, Avere slowly burn-

ing. The air was heavy with perfume and the

burning of masses of eagle-wood (lignum aloes) very

fragrant, especially when burnt, and various other

scented woods. We lighted our sandal-wood flowers,

and laid them on the heap of burning embers under

the open coffins. The king was still there, looking,

naturally, very sad and solemn. He recognised us

by a bow, but we did not speak to him. To us

the moment seemed too awful ; and so he and the

princes, in black, who were squatted round on the

floor near the walls, seemed to feel it too, most of

them looked down, and appeared to be murmuring

words of devotion, though Prince Devan and one or

two others shook hands with us and said a few words.

The dimly day-lighted chapel of cremation, though

lofty, was most oppressive in its atmosphere, and to

me positively sickening. I was glad when we were

led down another flight of stairs to the open air

again.

M

162 YOUNG SIAM.

Immediately after the cremation they all burst

out into wildest rejoicings, their cherished dead

having now arrived safely at a higher stage of exist-

ence, and having approached nearer to Nirvana, or

the Ineffable. To us the transition was startling,

as our pearl of chamberlains took us in hand again,

and marshalled us through the crowd, which fell

into line, leaving a pathway for us to pass, and led

us to seats immediately facing the royal dais,

whither His Majesty went, after leaving the crema-

tion-chapel, and where he presided over the numer-

ous diversions which had been arranged in honour

of the occasion. He came here shortly after our

arrival, and was now surrounded by several of his

children, dressed in white, as mourning for their

little brothers, and wearing, as before, tiny Avreaths

of small white flowers round their top-knots of hair.

We saw none of the ladies of the harem. We thus

found ourselves seated nearest to the king, whose

throne faced an open space, where games and the

fireworks were to be exhibited.

Here began the wildest high jinks. The distri-

bution of money to the natives took place as usual

at cremations, when the custom is for the king to

distribute money and presents to his people. Theprinces and relations of the king all give presents

to add to the collection, and they each get a return

present.

A grand scramble was made for the green limes

enclosing silver coins, which limes the king took

from large baskets placed by his feet. We all

scrambled for them, and there were plenty for all.

YOUNG SIAM. 163

Several of the Duke's officers were present, and hadgood places provided for them. The ' Sanspures,'

as the sailors style themselves, were in the back-

ground, most active in the scrambling. The king

seemed amused at seeing the sailors so eager after

the limes, and shot plenty in their direction.

Then he flung hollow balls, like nuts, containing

lottery tickets ; many of these he fired pointedly at

us, and, as His Majesty is a good shot, I had no less

than seven of these mostly fired into my lap. Heoccasionally threw some limes and nuts among his

children, and many among the courtiers near his

throne. There was much laughter all round, even

among the group of elder nobles and grandees of

Siara, dressed in cloth of gold, kincobs from India, I

believe, and gorgeous stufi^s, who sat close by the

king in a transept to his left. It was droll to see

us, our great Duke and all, scrambling; all of us

including the principal European ladies in the place,

Lady Clare in pale peach-blossom moir^ and white

Maltese lace, and my more than middle-aged self.

Our palace may verily be the Palace of CalmDelights, but I shall always think of Bangkok as

the City of High Jinks.

The humming, whirring sound of distant music

of the Siamese band was audible throughout.

Then the Duke's party were called up separately

by name, and we each received two special nuts from

the hand of His Majesty. The numbers enclosed in

mine gave me a symbolic ring made of a gold and a

silver sacred cobra entwined, set with diamonds,

and emeralds for eyes ; the second ticket gave me a

M 2

164 YOUNG SIAM.

blue-and-white tea-service on a small silver tray.

It had now grown dusk, and the fireworks com-

menced by a simultaneous ignition of all the distant

surrounding pieces, caused by the king setting fire

to a dragon, which at once whizzed off from the

throne, and set fire to the lofty pagoda standards of

nine umbrellas tapering above each other, which all

unfolded like fiery flowers as the light crept up

their tall columns. This had an excellent effect.

Many ingenious devices were exhibited, such as a

beautiful fire fountain, figures of fiery monkeys

darting out of the tops of high poles, &c. Thelucigen light blazed in the centre, and lighted up

two lines of men with lanterns, forming a colossal

representation of dragons trying to swallow the

moon, a reminiscence of the recent total eclipse.

There were loud strains indicative of lamentation at

the loss of the moon's light, and the clashing of

cymbals represented their custom of striking on

pots and pans when there is an eclipse, because they

think this phenomenon is caused by the malignity

of a dragon, which devours the two lights of the

world : by making a great noise, they endeavour

to frighten the animal that would deprive them of

the light of day. It need scarcely be said that their

efforts are always effectual.

The dragon-dances, and other entertainments of

running figures, are well known to the Bangkokese,

though to us the whole of the games and fireworks

were novel, and an excellent as well as remarkable

display; but the lamp-dance was a novelty. This

was danced by sixty young girls with lighted globes

YOUNG SIAM. 165

on their open hands, the lamps wreathed with

flowers. This dance, which requires great skill,

suppleness, and steadiness, was performed with re-

markable grace. This was, perhaps, a revival of

a favourite dance performed in the king's grand-

father's reign, when Sir John Bowring describes the

dancing as ' a slow motion, the girls holding a can-

dle in each hand, gracefully turning it round.' Thedistant music that guided their footsteps sounded to

us like mosquito-humming on a great scale.

The numerous girls inhabiting the part of the

palace enclosure called the City of the Veiled

Women are carefully trained as dancers, as well as

to recite poems and to act. The female inhabitants

of this populous city are by no means allowed to be

idle. Here are made the wreaths and chaplets used

at dinner-parties and ceremonies, and the sandal-

wood flowers burned at cremations. The permanent

population of this city was in King Chulalonkorn's

childhood estimated at nine thousand ; it was self-

supporting and had its own laws, which were ad-

ministered by female judges. One can get very

little information about the present condition of

this extraordinary convent city, where none but

women and children live. At the end of the private

covered entrances to these women's buildings is a

bas-relief representing the head of an enormous

sphinx with a sword through the mouth, with an

inscription which Mrs. Leonowens translates: 'Better

that a sword be thrust through thy mouth than that

thou utter a word against him who ruleth on high;'

which is interpreted to mean the king.

166 YOUNG SIAM.

Shortly after seven o'clock His Majesty withdrew

and the greater part of the enormous crowd dis-

persed; but amusements for the natives, such as

theatrical performances, dances, &c., still went

briskly on, and everything was ablaze with electric

lamps and brilliant as possible with fiery decorations.

The fete continued nearly all night.

Thosewho came late, so we heard afterwards, missed

seeing the fencing which took place outside the

royal enclosure about two p.m. We heard it was well

worth looking at, for with the foil, sword, and

bayonet the gracefulness and activity displayed by

the combatants was beyond all praise. The supple-

ness of Siamese bodies and their quickness of eye

here came out well, and showed that, if properly

taught, the nation would be quite capable of taking

an active part in their own national defence. Boxing

was also exhibited early in the afternoon in a tent

outside the Premane, and excited much interest.

We came home to dinner after the fireworks ; in-

deed we were too tired to wait till quite the end of

these. It must be an exhausting eflfort to the king

to carry out his part during the ceremonial fort-

night. I was too fatigued to go myself to get anyprizes from the tickets in the nuts, so I asked Prince

Doctor and our chamberlain's son to get them for

me. To give an idea of the variety of the presents

I will say that mine were a crimson plush photo-

graph-album highly ornamented, a liqueur-stand of

Bohemian glass, an ornamental blotting-book, two

silver network purses, a cotton panung, the commonnative dress, and an inkstand.

YOUNG SIAM. 167

During the night a loud band promenaded this

part of the city, playing the ' Dead March in Saul

'

and the Siamese national anthem, till about three in

the morning, when the cannons were fired as usual

to wake the priests for service in the various temples

of the palace enclosure.

168

CHAPTER VII.

AYUTHIA.

That country abounds with rivers and palm-trees; there is also

plenty of divers fowls, especially popinjays, which are not like ours.

From hence you come into the ocean.

Voyages of Marco Polo.

We are going this excursion towards Ayuthia in

the Sans Four, after all. Commodore Richelieu has

undertaken (or been appointed, I do not know which)

to skip us up, as he knows the river.

They welcomed the Duke on board with blue

lights, rockets, and the bagpipes. Every berth is

made available on board the yacht, which promises

to be full of visitors. I enjoyed the comparative

quiet of the yacht after the turmoil of night noises

in the city.

When the anchor was weighed at daybreak, at

this last moment the commodore sent a note

to say he was sorry he could not come, but he sent a

pilot instead. Prince Doctor came aboard early

with his native body-servant ; our other visitors

were here already. We heard to our dismay that-

no orders had been given about the promised

steam-launch for the shallow part of the river, and

AYUTHIA. 169

the yacht's launch is not calculated for us to go

any great distance in her with comfort in this

climate, one is too near the engine, and a mere

awning is nothing, a wooden roof is indispensable.

If orders come, the commodore says he will send the

royal launch forward for us. The fact is the king,

occupied with the cremation business, has forgotten

it. The various notes and messages occasioned some

delay, and we had to leave the matter to chance,

after all.

The most fatiguing part of sight-seeing in Siam is

the waiting about. The dear people are unpunctual,

and we English are brought up to feel that ifa train or

boat is timed to go at six o'clock it is rather a bore

if it does not go till ten o'clock. Then the plans

are always confused and uncertain, partly doubtless

owing to our want of knowledge of the language;

and when Prince Doctor is absent the projects

filter through the denser medium of young Mr.

Swinn, who is doubtless bearing up for being a

chamberlain like his excellent father.

No reliance can be placed on the Siamese word

and their promises. They promise because they

are too polite or too timid to say no. The king does

his level best, but with his single head full of the

cremation, and bothered besides by the promoters

of the railways, he cannot be expected, he one man,

sole absolute monarch, to remember everything.

Perhaps one of the best arguments for a constitu-

tional monarchy is the waste of other people's time

caused by absolute personal government.

. The river banks are pretty, and much like what

170 AYUTHIA.

they are below Bangkok, though the river is

narrower. We meet with teak-rafts occasionally and

villages of houses built ri«;ht in the water. There is

plenty of life in these and the numerous bamboo

villages half-hidden by the sugar-palms, {arenga

saccharifera) coco-nut, and areca palms. Here the

prickly bamboo is quite bare and wintry in its grey

stems with the drought. We see plenty of men in

elegant mauve and heliotrope-coloured panungs

rowing, gondolier fashion, the smaller bamboo-

covered oval-shaped boats ; by which we know that

all the gay world has not gone to Bangkok for the

festivities. Prince Doctor is reading ' Life on the

Mississippi.' It is something unexpected to see a

Siamese able to relish Mark Twain.

The river nobly foams and flows swirling on

rapidly between its fringed borders of light-green

trees, with an occasional contrast of very large trees

of dark, almost black foliage, whose timber they

say is an extremely hard dark-red wood, very

valuable. Prince Doctor could not tell me its

name in English;—^indeed, he was so engrossed with

Mark Twain,—he called it Meranda.' Oh, I know it,' says Mr, Swan, ' Meranda.'' What do we call it ?'

' Oh, that's the Malay name.'

' Oh, when Swan doesn't know a thing he invents

a Malay name for it,' says Mr. Cobham, laughing,' and none of us can contradict him.'

I think it is the Calamander, a word corrupted

from the Sinhalese name Kalu-m^diriya, a name wehave corrupted into Coromandel wood. Though it

AYUTHIA. 171

is said that this tree is peculiar to Ceylon, where it

is now very scarce and valuable.

We stop about noon at Koh Lai by a bend in the

river, not a bad anchorage, near a neat village with

peaked roofs, the houses raised as usual on stilts

thirteen feet high, ' with ramps of hurdles for the

domestic animals to ascend, whose stables are in

the air.' * This is done to avoid inundation at the

annual rise of the Menam, especially in curves

of the river. There are many picturesque boats,

and many heavy barges slowly poling up stream

with great exertion.

' Can't we steam up any higher, so that we might

possibly achieve Ayuthia, if all steam-launches and

elephants fail ?'

The pilot will do his best.

On again to where there are three fathoms of

water, two fathoms at low tide, and a bad smell ; but

the pilot tries to get us up as far as he can. After all,

we are obliged to return some distance as there is

not water enough for us when the tide falls, so back

to the island of Koh Lai. I hear question and

answer going on at a distance.

' Is it safe to swim here ?'

' There are no alligators here, are there. Prince ?'

' Oh, not many; they come down more when the

waters flow down fresh in the spring.' So in the

smmmers j umped.

Though tbere is a strong current to swim against,

the water is very warm, above ninety degrees

;

warmer at morning and evening than the air. The

* Turpin.

172 AYUTHIA.

quantity of sediment in the river chokes the baths on

board. We have towed up Prince Doctor's gondola,

so we are going on an excursion, taking the native

pilot with us. We set off about four o'clock, swiftly

passing the returning north-country boats built for

shooting the rapids ; here and there one with a tri-

coloured square of three panungs, green, red-brown,

and white, sewn together and hoisted for a sail.

Here the areca palm stands up erect and tall

among the gracefully light feather}' bamboo, which

is really more exquisitely beautiful in Siam than I

have seen it anywhere else ; a lovely background to

the white sails on curved bamboo yards. The stiff

lines of the numerous Siamese pagoda spires offer

an agreeable contrast to the tufted palms. This

part of the river is crowded with bamboo rafts, andthe bamboo-woven oval-topped boats in which so

many families pass a perpetually moving yet peace-

ful existence.

More than ever here do we see the daily, hourly

use of the bamboo. To paraphrase Bacon, the

bamboo serves for delight, for ornament, and for

ability; for delight, in privateness of shade andretiring background ; for ornament, to build Pre-

manes with ; and for ability, for house and furniture

and for nearly every aquatic and agricultural pur-

pose under the sun. As for the coco-nut palm, it

is a truism that its uses are as numerous as the daj's

of the year. The palmyra is a richer tree eventhan the coco-nut. The Tamil poets describe eight

hundred different purposes to which the palmyracan be applied.

AYUTHIA. 173

On the shore they are at once sowing, winnowing,

and threshing rice, aided by the large-horned black

buffaloes and other cattle which come down in

herds to bathe in the river after the day's work

;

while overhead are numerous flights of large white

birds with thin black tails, looking like great white-

winged dragon-flies magnified, or Siamese kites

;

these are the paddy birds, a kind of white ibis

celebrated in a Siamese poem, ' Ex Supharet,' as a

contrast to the vulture.

' Hateful, repulsive to the eye,

The ugly vulture floats on high;

Yet, harmless, crimeless in his ways,

Upon the dead alone he preys

;

And all his acts, in every place,

Are useful to the human race.

' The snowy ibis, beautiful

And white aa softest cotton wool.

Preys on the living, and its joys

Spring from the life that it destroys.

So wicked men look sleek and fair,

Even when most mischievous they are.'

But the paddy birds, methinks, are of some use;

they follow the buffaloes as these tread the seed

into the soil, to prevent its being washed away,

stalking along and devouring the worms and insects

in the pits made by the buff"alo's heavy tread. Theeffect is very odd of the burly black buffaloes each

with an attendant white sprite with long slender legs

and long beak; two forms, as decidedly opposed to

the idea of evolution as can possibly be.

Here is a barge-load of bricks.; they make themhere : the Duke and Mr. Swan are at once interested

n-i AYVTHIA.

in pricing them for potential railway works ; then

come swinging down the river craft that might

almost be taken for pleasure-boats, with high row-

locks, the gondoliers with large palm hats and gaily

coloured panungs, convoying home their loads of

green stuff, gliding quickly past the pink and grey

water-buffaloes standing up to their wreathing

horns in the water. The native gondoliers are fine

men, with muscles developed like those of antique

statues. The bamboo dwellings up here are still

always built on high poles like Malay houses, but

with more elegant roofs because of the Siamese curve.

A fish leaps into our gondola,

a silvery mackerel-shaped fish, /---^^^'""~~~"'^'™"C

Avith two forward growing an--__-'^^

tennse or whiskers.

The sunset is a crimson fireball, scorchino- to the

last, I feel, as a crimson stream of light is fired at meacross the purpling water; the fierce flame of the skyseeming almost to melt the bronze black limbs of the

teak and the meranda. It will be too dark to see the

palace of Bang Pahin, the king's favourite country-

seat ; it is a good mile off even now. We pass a light-

house on an island to the left, and behind it a wat, or

temple, built like a modern Gothic church ; it is,

indeed, a copy of one ; and a little further on the

shore to our right (going up) is the Palladian palace

of Bang Pahin. We landed here to see the buildings

;

a white palace in several separate detachments in

Italian renaissance, the favourite modern style in

Siam. A very elegant Siamese wat, constructed

chiefly of timber, stands in the centre of a piece of

AYUTHIA. 175

water round which the palace is built. It is really

a bathing pavilion of very beautiful design, built

like a pier on piles or tall posts. Near it is a fine

arched stone bridge, with lamps alternating with

spread-eagles in Napoleonic French style. In the

centre of a grass-plot stands a French statue of a

nymph with a lute, more exactly described by Mr.

Cobham as a young lady with a banjo.

While sitting here in the dusk waiting for Prince

Doctor, who had gone to hunt up the gardener

with the key of the gardens, which they say ai'e

very fine, we heard the tok^, or tokay, a large

lizard that shrieks tokay, tokay; the same as the

tukto of Burmah. The natives count and tell for-

tunes by the number of times he says tokay, andgamble upon it. This one screams tokay several

times and then gives a grunt of content. There is a

small switchback line, not exactly a railway, in these

grounds running up and down half-a-dozen or so of

ascents and descents.

They are lighting fires in all directions under the

bamboo houses to keep off the mosquitoes. It is

growing dark, and we hear the gardener has goneto bed, so, as we shall pass this place again to-

morrow, we give up seeing the gardens by firefly-

light and return to the boat.

We steamed homewards by moonlight in less

than two hours, going rapidly down stream.

Lady Clare and her brother, who had not madethe excursion with us, had been seeing the wholebusiness of preparing the rice, with the buffaloes

treading out the ears, a slow process.

176 AYUTHTA.

' A mill would do it so quickly.'

' But a mill means cost and calculation to these

people,' said Prince Doctor, ' and they see no reason

for being in a hurry.'

' No, why should they hurry themselves in this

climate? Once bring machinery into their paddy

fields, and you will put pressure on life altogether,'

says the gently gliding Swan.

'And you an engineer! How can you?' say

some.

' Hear, hear !' from the opposition.

The king is called Grand Lord of the Rice ; but

climate and custom are stronger monarchs than he.

We comment upon their neat way of stacking the

rice-sheaves.

' Not in your roundabout English fashion,' says

Prince Doctor, remembering our 'mows.' 'They

are busy now threshing out their rice, in another

month they begin to plough,' continues our princely

philosopher and friend. ' Sometimes they have

two crops, in this way ; when the rice is cut down,

it sometimes sprouts again. This second crop is not

so good, of course.'

We remembered the admirable Mr. Barlow in

' Sandford and Merton.' We do sometimes feel like

bears with a private tutor.

The dusk before the tropic dawn is full of songs

and sounds of birds.

No tender to his yacht had come from the king.

In the evening, when I was tired, I did not feel so

bad when some of the hardier among the gentlemen

were planning to start very early and go up the

AYUTHIA. 177

river ia our own steam-launch; but when morning

came I felt differently. Noises of packing up luncheon

and starting for Ayuthia before daylight made mefeel ' real horrid '; all the more so as being awake

and quite strong I might have done it too, and nowthere would not be time for me to get ready without

keeping them waiting. I tried to sleep it off.

What do I hear ? a call for early breakfast ! I

hurry up and hear to my joy that a fairy launch

has arrived to take us all up to Ayuthia. I am so

glad, for I feared to have to trust Mr. Cobham for

details of the architecture.

The launch belonged to Prince Doctor's father, a

high Admiralty official, who had sent her up. I

suspect the prince telegraphed for her to be sent.

There is a telegraph beyond Ayuthia as well as to

Bangkok. This is why he put hindrances in the

way of the early start, for I had been surprised to

find the exploring-party still on board.

We settle ourselves in the well-fitted launch, with

a saloon where one sits on the carpet ; the open part

of the vessel is shaded with wooden awnings and

helioscene blinds. She is called the Golden Needle^

she is so sharp, and painted yellow, as in fact she

belongs to the king's establishment. Fond farewells

to those who are left behind ; the heat makes those

who are not enthusiastic sight-seers prefer the

milder charms of Koh Lai ; reflecting that Koh Lai

at hand is better than Ayuthia in the jungle.

' Good-bye, take care of your precious selves

;

mind and wear flannel.'

We hear their chaff for some time, and see their

N

178 AYUTHIA.

waving handkerchiefs as we set off, taking the

prince's gondola in tow. There are only two steam-

boats running regularly at this season between

Bangkok and Ayuthia—pronounced as spelt, accent

on the u. ' Later in the season,' Prince Doctor tells

us, ' steam-launches do a good deal of traffic'

The scenery of the river, he tells us, becomes hilly

and very pretty some four hundred miles, or three

days' journey, above Ayuthia. The Menam, accord-

ing to Turpin, the Frenchman who wrote a fair

account of Siam over a century ago, in 1771, rises

in the slopes of the snow-covered mountains of

Yunan. The tradition about the snow rests only

on hearsay. Prince Doctor is himself uncertain

about it. I frequently met Mr. James M'Carthy, the

explorer, who speaks of a vast plateau about four

thousand feet above the sea-level, backed by lofty

mountains, one of them nine thousand feet high.

The river was formerly navigable higher up than

it is now, for at present only in August, when the

annual inundation of the Menam is at its height,

can any but the lightest vessels navigate above

Raheng. During the flood the whole valley is like

an immense sea, in which towns and villages look

like islands, the streets connected by drawbridges.

The inundation of the Menam begins at the end

of July, and the water increasing two inches a day

sometimes reaches thirteen or fourteen feet in

height. This constant and regular inundation

spreads fertility through the land, and it may be

said the Menam is to this country what the Nile

is to Egypt.

AYUTHIA. 179

Turpin says it is an agreeable sight to see an

extent of ten leagues presenting at the same time

the picture of a sea and of a champaign crowned

with grain. No dry land is observed, except at cer-

tain distances, on which are built large, idolatrous

temples. The ears (of rice) which rise above the surface

of the waters yield with ease under the boats, and rise

again without being injured. The fish spread them-

selves over the fields, where they fatten and multi-

ply. On the slopes of the banks advantage is taken

of the rich deposit left by the river in subsiding

to plant tobacco abundantly. There is plenty of life

on the river now. The white jackets and billy-cocks,

or sailor-straw hats, that they wear make people in the

boats look like English. A double vessel oftwo boats

joined together, a day-and-night nursery for the

large small family, we call the Calais-Douvres or the

Siamese Twins. As Aleck pipes up, and we pass the

modern Gothic church-like wat at Bang Pahin it

reminds us of music on the steamers going to Kew.

Some of the party, of course, do not understand this

comparison. Birds are thick and unalarmed on the

trees, as in that story of Marco Polo, where he says

the birds grew on the trees, and dropped off at

times. Perhaps these birds were really flying-foxes

(pteropus Edwardsii), a gigantic species of bat, which

sometimes look like a quantity of large, dark-brown

fruits hanging from the branches of the loftiest

ficuses, and detaching themselves in a startling man-

ner, as they hang, head downwards, by one leg, they

seem to drop, and then fly in circles from tree to

N 2

180 AYUTHIA.

tree. Here are numerous kingfishers, and swallows

are flying low.

After passing a pretty, well-wooded island of finest

all tropical verdure, we leave the main river, and

take a short cut by a canal. ' This is an elephant

preserve,' says Prince Doctor. 'A large herd of ele-

phants is always protected on this artificial island.'

At noon the water is cooler than the air, though

the sunshine is tempered by the breeze. Prince

Doctor points out to us a temple (waTt), with its

accompanying dagoba, built by his grandfather.

' If you build a temple, you get so many of your

sins taken away. Everyone of any standing builds

a temple. It is considered infra dig. to worship

in any other person's temple ; so Ayuthia is one

mass of temples.'

The land is, to all appearance, well peopled ; the

river-banks presenting a pretty nearly continuous

village. It is a happy-looking country up here,

farmed by well-to-do people, ' the land smiling with

cultivation ' and abounding in sugar-palms (saguerus

saccharifer). The sailing-boats collect rice from

place to place, and then they carry it down to

Bangkok. It is easy to sustain life here ; every

necessary grows so rapidly. Nature is their great

manufacturer. The river too is inexhaustible in its

supply of food. The creel-shaped fishing-nets are

generally hauled up full of fish. Every Siamese is

bound to give the king forty days' service in the

army or in labour. This can be commuted for the

eight ticals' poll-tax. This is quite fair—but a

Chinaman only pays one shilling, half a tical, while

AYUTHIA. 181

the natives pay eight ticals. The Chinese who are

under European protection are exempt from poll-tax

altogether. The Siamese are beginning to be awake to

this grievance, notwithstanding that they are born

philosophers.

On reaching Ayuthia, at half-past tAvelve, we at

once find ourselves in a labyrinth of canals, Avater-

side shops, and houses with curved and pointed roofs,

and every house and shop has its high-prowed boat

moored at its landing-stage. Ayuthia is not only an

island, but it is also situated among several other

islets, which renders its situation peculiar. It is still

true as when Turpin wrote, that, although it occupies

a vast extent, it contains but few inhabitants. At the

water-side, it is true, it seems populous enough, but

the gardens on the river-banks are more like groves,

and the groves farther in again are more like forests.

Three great rivers, which have their source in the

higher lands, surround it on all parts, and cross it

by three large canals, which divide it into difi'erent

quarters, so that it can only be entered by boats.

Turpin, who wrote while Ayuthia was still the

capital of the country, and itself usually called

Siam, says ' the south part, which faces the south,

only contains idolatrous temples, where no affluence

is seen but on solemn days.' The temples being

now, for the most part, dismantled and falling to

decay, there is little affluence seen here at any time,

the affluence of gold at least ; for there is plenty of

everything else, to all appearance. There is morecultivation here than at Bangkok ; the people at

Bangkok are more engaged in trade.

182 AYUTHIA.

But, delightful as archaeology may be as a study,

in the study it has less charm in this most torrid

part of the tropics at burning noontide. Our first

care was to seek a shady place for luncheon. They

offered us the shade of the old sacred elephant

stables to lunch in, that have not been used since

Ayuthia was the capital ; stables just as they were

left one hundred years ago, gilded posts and all.

But these were too grand for us, and not draughty

enough.

We were then taken through what looked like

a clean and neat part of an old-fashioned country

town or village to a mango-orchard surrounded

by high walls, with rounded battlements, at one

end of which is a lofty tower, mth stair-cases in

it, which is a now disused observatory, or look-

out. We at first took it for a pagoda, because of

the ofiferings of flowers and votive toys laid on the

steps and slabs of balustrading at the entrance;

but this is no safe guide, for, as in Ceylon, these

Buddhists place flowers on any slab they find, taking

it for an altar. A whistle, a sort of cat-call, from

aloft.

'Fine view up here, Mrs. Caddy,' shouts the

Duke, who, as usual, had climbed to the highest

point.

I had meant to average it in the heat (one p.m.,

thermometer boiling-point in the sun), but for very

shame I climbed up and saw a vast tropical forest,

pierced for miles round with white or golden pagoda

spires, with rivers winding about among the verdure.

This is the present aspect of Ayuthia, which became

AYUTHIA. 183

the capital of the country in a.d. 1351, and was de-

vastated by the Burmese in 1751, when Bangkok be-

came the royal residence, and trade at once followed

the court. The native name signifies Terrestrial

Paradise. It is indeed a paradise as seen from the

observatory, or rather a sea of verdure, melting awayall round into an infinity of blueness, in which stand

up the varied forms of the temple roofs and spires,

more various even than those of Bangkok : some

pyramidal, some column-like, some like stalactite

needles, some expanding like lily-cups, or diminish-

ing in spirals of delicate proportion. It was a

lovely view, and utterly unlike anything I had ever

seen before. ' Nothing to Darjeeling, of course,' as

we understood from Mr. Cobham. The observatory

is considered a ruin, but the timbers are wonder-

fully well-preserved considering it has been left

without repairs for one hundred years. It is the

same with the temples, which now belong to no-

body. One understands why, by what Prince Doctor

told us. The builders and proprietors quitted Ayu-thia,but could not carry away theirtemples with them.

We descended slowly and painfully. The Dukestruck a match and began exploring a dark passage.

'Where are you going, Duke?' shrieked out so-

prano, alto, tenor, and bass, who besought him to

take care of his precious life and the interests of the

life-assurance companies. ' Cobras, alligators, tigers,

spiders I' shrieked the chorus.

The men of the royal yacht Vesatii^ a detachment

of whom had been sent up the river with us in the

Golden Needle^ spread matting under the mango-

184 AYUTHIA.

trees ; and oh, how glad we were to see the seltzer-

bottles and to hear the popping of the corks !

' " Leave but a kiss within the glass," ' says Prince

Doctor, showing off— 'ah ! that wouldn't satisfy even

a lover to-day.'

While we lunched, a gang of shackled prisoners

were turned in at the farther end of the orchard to

Avork. This might have been their regular task,

but it seemed to us as if the overseers wished to

study our manners and customs, and the prisoners

themselves did nothing else.

' They don't work by the piece here, I presume ?'

said the Duke of Sutherland.

We sent for river-water—the best here ; not all

the soda-water in the yacht could have diluted our

claret sufficiently—and the Yesatri men, after bring-

ing coco-nuts, ducked and skedaddled. A tall man in

blue, who took the lead among the attendants, andsprang from goodness knows where, hewed the tops

off the green coco-nuts, and we drank and were

comforted ; he cleverly fashioned spoons from the

soft shell, and we scooped the gelatinous young pulp.

' Gallumptious !' said we all in Siamese, and trans-

lated it to the Duke.

To rest at noontide under a tree is my ideal of

enjoyment—ah ! what is it in the tropics 1 Prince

Doctor fired the dry mango-leaves near him, ' to

keep off the alligators,' as he said. I thought the

whole grove would be set on fire, but owing, I sup-

pose, to the vegetable moisture, it could not makehead against our efforts to extinguish it. One sel-

dom sees jungle-fires in Siam.

AYUTHIA. 185

' They ring the mango-trees to make them bear

fruit,' said Prince Doctor, becoming pleasantly in-

structive, as usual. This answers to root-pruning

with us.

We sat listening to his words of wisdom and the

song of the birds, Mr. Michell's speciality of study.

There is a Siamese bird very like a magpie, and one,

a green bird, with a note very like a blackbird ; there

is also one song like a thrush. Several of the birds'

songs in the mango-grove resemble those of English

birds. Some of us were rather surprised to hear

them singing so freely in the shade at midday. Thespecialists were all ready with a theory.

' It is pleasant to hear specialists talk ; one feels

like being at a lecture, easy and lazy, letting some

one else get up the learning,' I thought, and unre-

flectingly said it aloud.

' Alas ! it goes in at one ear, &c.'

' No, in at one ear and out at the note-book.'

' There's one prisoner gone mad,' observed the

Duke, suddenly looking up ;' he's actually at work.'

Mr. Michell and others pretended to long for

work likewise.

' Don't go off and explore !' we all cried, beseech-

ingly.

' It spoils the harmony of the—ahem !—evening,'

said Prince Doctor, the most English of us all.

' Find those fat curly cigars, some of you, do, and

quiet them,' said Mr. Cobham.' It's all very well for you who live at home at

ease in the country to go off sight-seeing. I live

in London, and can't sit under a mango-grove every

186 AYUTHIA.

day.' I addressed them all collectively, and the

Duke in particular individually.

' I've been sitting in the boat for hours and want

to move,' his Grace replied, pathetically. So he had,

and on the floor, too, of the carpeted section of the

launch.

Conscience-stricken, we let him and Mr. Michell

depart without another murmur, though they were

a loss to us. Most of them go off to make studies

of the place, Prince Doctor casting a regretful look

behind. Aleck packs up the baskets and goes off

too with the Duke's chief engineer, who had come

up in the Golden Needle. The prince's boy looks

pensively at the packed luncheon-baskets, and

wearily—a true Siamese—as if he would not lift

one of them for the world ; in his purple silk dra-

pery, his glossy locks rubbed with the oil of the

doksaratha, flower of excellence, looking like Ouida's

Amphion, as I always call him. He signals to four

Vesatri men to come, while he stands gracefully

on one leg, twisting the other round it, and makes

the men divide the weight of the baskets. I stayed

in the orchard finishing my sketch. Mr. Cobhamhad fallen asleep on a mat comfortably arranged

under a tree at some distance from the scene

of decampment. The prisoners continued their

work of looking on.

The energetic explorers went to a gambling-house,

where the Duke won a tical, which he gave to an

old woman who taught him the game. Prince

Doctor reappeared ; he said he had come on the

Duke's part to call us to go sight-seeing.

AYUTHIA. 187

' Well, let US go,' I said, reluctantly putting up

my sketch-book. It was quitting beatitude under

the mango-trees. A troop of women and children

prettily dressed had come in to stare at us.

' Isn't it a pity to disturb Mr. Cobham's repose?'

says the lazy prince, lighting his cigarette.

I suggested letting him sleep on.

' We can't leave him here alone in this wilderness

with a lot of—crocodiles.'

' Then we must just stay and protect him,' said I

;

and we stayed.

Presently Mr. Swan came and hauled us out. Hesaid the Duke was pacing up and down impatiently

waiting for us. False man ; lo ! his Grace was

sitting quietly in a shady temple, chatting with Mr.

Michell, his cigarette not smoked out.

We climbed down the difficult steps of the steep

bank, bordered with rungeah, a sort of purple-

crimson lotus, found in many pools and marshes of

Siam, into the gondola, the Duke and Mr. Michell

sitting on the roof, to go to the place where they

catch and tame the elephants. We crossed a

common abounding in hares, and covered with

short turf and wild flowers, and a kind of whortle-

berry growing long and gracefully in its fruit-stems,

the fruit in all hues of green, pink, and purple, and

in the thickets long stems of ' wait-a-bit ' thorns.

Hither they drive the elephants every third year. In

one post of danger there is a tall fence, a sort of

gateway, or deep archway, formed of high stout poles

or pillars of teak firmly fastened together by cross-

beams overhead, where the men can take refuge, as

188 AYUTHIA.

it is too narrow for the elephants to pass. Roundthe ground is an elephant-proof fence of teak poles

driven into the earth at intervals of about two

feet. They sometimes drive two hundred elephants

into this enclosure. They have fifteen wild elephants

now ready for taming, but to-day they had only

one in the sheds, and he looked gentle enough.

We hurried down to the boats to go on further

and see a wat, though most of these, as we saw

from the observatory, were miles and miles away.

Ponies or elephants ought to have been provided

for us to ride about Ayuthia, the distances are so

great ; it reminded one of Babylon, which enclosed

its own gardens and corn-fields within its walls, a

province rather than a city. It was impossible for

us to get at most of the temples. I regret this

now, but at the time we were thankful for this

small mercy. The heat was intense : the water was,

so to speak, boiling in the soda-water bottles.

'Don't take me to see anymore sights, Prince

;

carry me home to England,' sighs Mr. Swan, mop-ping his face ;

' carry me home to die.'

' There is a wat to be seen.'

' Oh, 1 shan't see any more wats.'

We were all not sorry to hear the Prince speak

disparagingly of the wats. Of those whose outsides

we saw, some of them are highly gilt, and many of

them in a very ruinous state, but beautiful as

reflected in pools islanded by clumps of the crimson

lotus, and surrounded by mango and bread-fruit-

trees. The natives say there is nothing highly

artistic in the details of their decoration, but of

ATUTHIA. 189

this I am not sure that they are fair judges. Sailing

below the high banks of the canals and rivers it

was not possible to get near enough to see the

minutiae.

' They hold service in the wats on the fifteenth

day of the waxing moon and the eighth day of the

waning moon,' says Prince Doctor.

I don't quite understand this, except as the day

after full moon and the week after that ; but I give

it as he said it.

Turpin says, ' Their Sunday, called Vampra, is on

the fourth day of the moon ; in each month they

have two grand ones, at the new and full moon, andtwo less solemn on the seventh and twenty-first.'

But I could never get two people to tell me alike

about this. Their week is composed of seven days,

each of which has the name of a plant. Their Sun-

day does not exempt them from labour ; only fishing,

which destroys life, and is therefore held in dis-

esteem by the Buddhists, is forbidden on these

days.

The houses in Ayuthia are frequently built of

teak instead of bamboo exclusively ; their appear-

ance is neater as well as more national than at

Bangkok, and pretty with scarlet-runner beans

twining up the cane garden-fences. Flowers are

abundant, including the rare gmelina histrix, a plant

peculiar to Siam, blossoms pale yellow with browncalyxes growing curiously in pairs, two flowers outat a time ; a quaint flower reminding one of Siamese

buildings somehow in its double hornedness. Thepopulation is more distinctly Siamese ; there are

190 AYUTHIA.

indeed, few Chinese here ; the open round basket-

shaped hats are generally worn by men and women.

We intended to go to where the large feather-

fans, an Ayuthian speciality, are to be obtained

;

large fans like those used as punkahs in the king's

palace. Unfortunately, there was not sufficient

depth of water in the canal leading to the fan-shop,

and we must have made nearly the circuit of the

city to get at it by the larger canal. The water-

ways are all lined with bamboo houses, not by any

means always on stilts, though possibly those not

built on stilts are floating houses and rise with the

tide, and the fronts of the houses are crowded with

bamboo oval-tilted boats of the national Siamese

shape. The houses all have the curved roofs and

horned gables that give all Siamese buildings, large

or small, such a distinctive character. We went up

one of the ' natural moats ' with banks unusually

steep. The city proper is built on a peninsula madean island by art. The river-water is cleaner here

than lower down the stream ; a man standing in

the canal was sousing himself with water from his

brass bowl with real enjoyment. Sponges are

seldom used here, they would harbour reptiles.

' Let us go to a cafe.' Proposal received with

acclamation. But there are no caf^s in Ayuthia.

They have never heard of ices ; it is quite a pro-

vincial town. In returning to Koh Lai we made tea

with water from the engine and cooled it with soda-

water ; it was too strong and horrible. Oh, poor

Prince Doctor's wry faces I We dabbled in the

river, our sleeves were wet through with splashing

;

AYUTHIA. 191

never mind, we do not get rheumatism here as we

do in our favoured land.

We were home very late for dinner. Our con-

versation at table rather horrified the Prince ; wetalked of our kings and queens, anointed sovereigns

embalmed in history, with free criticism. We talked

of Mary Stuart, and even whisi)ered some scandal

against Queen Elizabeth.

' How well you are for your queens,' said Prince

Doctor, losing his correct English in his horror at

our disloyal comments. ' You don't deserve any

kings or queens, if you can talk about them like

that.'

' But they are all dead,' we cried ;' dead as Queen

Anne.'

' To the dead we should be doubly respectful,' he

said, solemnly. He was perfectly right.

I heard later, from a fellow-student of his, that

Yai Sanitwongse, Prince Doctor, took the prize for

English from a lot of British fellows in his second

year at Edinburgh. He doubtless paid scrupulous at-

tention to his grammar. He is a good specimen of the

golden youth of Siam, who have adopted European

learning without losing their nationality; a great

improvement on the old school, whose whole happi-

ness consisted in insensibility.

I gave Prince Doctor the volumes of Mark Twainthat I had with me, as he relished them so much

;

the Duke gave him a handsome revolver ; all of us

gave him our blessing. We were greatly indebted

to him for the pleasure of our trip.

' You will be glad to put yourself into the meat-

192 AYUTHIA.

safe again, Mr. Cobham,' said the Prince. He meant

behind the mosquito-curtains. Mosquitoes are very

troublesome on the river.

Here we are near Bangkok, turned up again like

bad ticals. A raft and a large Chinese boat ran

into us and damaged themselves, that is, the boat

had its oval roof lifted off. There was plenty of

bad language used, but as we did not understand

Chinese it did not set us a bad example.

Our polite chamberlain welcomed us with his

best English and his best bow, standing with his

feet close together, Austrian fashion, to bow as he

presented me with a fan of pink feathers, prettily

painted.

Sir Andrew Clarke, Mr. Gould, the British consul,

and Doctor Gowan dined with us, and Mr. McGregor

came later in the evening ; the talk was as instructive

as usual. At close upon midnight the chamberlain

and Prince Doctor, in full white Court mourning,

went to the Premane. It was the second and last

grand ceremonial of the cremation, and we perhaps

ought to have gone, but we felt tired ; and, besides,

it seemed so greedy to go again and scramble for

limes and nuts. It might not have the same zest

as the first time.

I found a white chameleon inside my mosquito-

curtains, a pretty, graceful creature who would have

devoured the stray mosquito that always gets

inside ; but I lost my presence of mind and brushed

the elegant animal out. Somehow I did not fancy

having a lizard within my curtains.

We have been less worried by mosquitoes than

AYUTHIA. 193

we feared ; we were told we should find them in

Bangkok as large as rats ! and really other insects

have not troubled us at all, nor noxious reptiles of

any sort. It is a fifth popular fallacy that serpents

are momentarily seen in the tropics, and habitually

sleep under your pillows.

194

CHAPTER VIII.

THIRTY years' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

' And sell you, mixed with western sentimentalism,

Some samples of the finest Orientalism !'

Beppo.

An invitation from Prince Devan to meet the Dukeat ten a.m., and talk about tte railways with him,

was accepted by his Grace, and at once postponed

by the Siamese prince till seven this evening. Wesuspected that this did not mean business.

Two gentlemen, just come back from prospecting

the gold-mines on the west coast of the Gulf of

Siam, say there are millions (? better say hun-

dreds) of shafts of former workings. At the present

value of money, &c., the cost of these works would

represent millions sterling (which is probably whatthey meant). They found the unhealthiness of the

climate far over-rated : they took abundance of

medicines with them, and used none, as not one

of the party had the least touch of fever. Former

explorers lived hardly, defied the sun, fed on native

diet, and drank unfiltered water from the jungle

rivere; naturally, they all got fever. These mentook proper precautions, and remained healthy.

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 195

Besides these gentlemen, we also entertained at

tea Mr. Cooper, an explorer and surveyor of mines,

&c., and the Italian Cavaliere Nosotti, concession-

ary of the gold-mines, &c., on the Malayan coast

belonging to Siam.

Some of our party went to tea on board Sir

Andrew Clarke's yacht, and some went off, in full-

dress uniform, to the Premane. Among the prizes

drawn to-day in the scramble for nuts, &c.,

were a dog-cart, an elephant, a buffalo, and some

ponies. The lucky winner had to ride them, ac-

cording to custom, past the king. This always

causes great laughter, especially when, as on this

occasion, the riders, being townspeople, had evident-

ly never mounted elephants or buffaloes before.

Supposing any of our party had won these things,

what should we have done ? We might have hired

a deputy to do the riding, but we could not have

carried home our prizes in the yacht with us.

I went to Mr. Michell's Saturday reception, and

looked on while his friends played lawn-tennis in the

royal garden, which is just behind his official resi-

dence. The explorers and surveyors were there,

too ; so we had plenty of talk. Society here seems

very pleasant ; it is almost too small to be split

up into cliques. Perhaps the tea was the least

European part of the entertainment ; it was so

delicate in colour and flavour.

The seven o'clock interview with Prince Devan

Avas again postponed ; but in the Premane (whither

we adjourned after dinner) we accidentally met the

Prince, and the Duke and he, with Mr. Swan, went

o2

196 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

off for a short talk. Prince Devan says lie will

have the proposed railway-line surveyed, which will

take two years. Sir Andrew Clarke's scheme was

the one eventually accepted. It may be, commerci-

ally, the best, though perhaps not politicallj'^ so.

The Premane was crowded, and illuminated as be-

fore ; only the reserved ground was this evening kept

exclusively for the grandees. It is a gay scene as ever,

with its brilliantly-lighted kiosks and temples, and

the royal buildings. It is difficult to believe that

such solid-looking Italian colonnades and galleries

are made of paper and bamboo, and all to be swept

away so soon. Lamps of green glass and red paper

are wreathed about the corridors and windows,

which are draped with black and white, broad-

striped curtains.

How like the 'Arabian Nights' it is to see these

three slaves in white garments approach our party

with refreshments, and kneel and prostrate them-

selves in offering the huge silver trays. The priests'

attendants lie sleeping all about the grounds near

the cremation temple, chiefly on each side of the

plaited bamboo-path. The hundreds of priests each

recite the liturgical office, a certain number chant-

ing at a time, until all the priests have been through

the service. Discordant conches and liquid har-

monica sounds are mingled with the continuous

chanting.

A priest went mad last night, and struck about

him with a sword. He hit at a sentry, who stuck

him through with his bayonet. The priest has since

died. No inquest has taken place, but official public

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 197

opinion considers it justifiable homicide on the part

of the sentry.

The king and princes remain here sometimes all

night. The king has a suite of apartments specially

prepared for his use in the Italian gallery, draped

with black curtains, with a narrow white border,

on the first-floor ; so that His Majesty can pass to

the cremation chapel—which is on the same level

—

without going down into the gardens and up the

bamboo-plaited path and staircase.

My friend the shaggy-headed Prince Premier is

here barefooted, and in black. Several of the other

princes are also barefooted. Some of them are

studying the Dharna padam, Path of Virtue, the

Buddhist Bible. They seem more melancholy to-

night than usual. 1 hear they were all muchattached to the princess whose cremation ceremonies

are now being observed.

The jumble of ideas, ancient and modern, eastern

and western, is quite fatiguing in this form of life,

where things barbaric dying out contend to the last

with the utmost novelties of civilization ; all of it,

both old-fashioned and new-fangled, smothered in

ceremonial and splendour.

The reveill^e on Sunday morning is very Euro-

pean in sound, and the word of command to the

soldiers grufi" in tone, like our officers give it to the

volunteers.

I packed up a well-bound and illustrated ' Life of

Queen Victoria,' with Her Majesty's latest photograph

in addition, and a pretty picture-book of etchings with

poetry for the little five-year-old prince. I packed

198 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

tte parcel up with Christinas cards, and wrapped it

in silk and ribbons, copying the address as Prince

Doctor had written it in my note-book, ThoonGramon Fah Lek. I showed it to our chamberlain

to ask if that was correct. He smiled, but said it

would do very well. It appears Fah Lek means

little prince, and is not his name at all. I wrote a

letter accompanying the parcel to the Queen asking

Her Majesty to allow her little prince to receive it.

The same afternoon I received a pretty message of

thanks from the palace, and the little prince sent

me two small enamelled silver trays of native work-

manship ' with his love.' Mr. Michell tells me I ammuch favoured in having an immediate answer to

my letter and present;people are usually kept at

least three days before getting a reply. Thechamberlain's pretty little daughter was brought in

to see us from his house in the country. We found

some European presents to give her.

Mr. M'Carthy, lately the hero of the Royal Geo-

graphical Society, took me out in his gondola, towed

by his steam-launch, cruising in a canal lined with

busy shops, set among tall elm-like trees and palms

and plantations, that I had not previously explored.

I bought some native hats and curiosities, and someof the curious Siamese toys that they are clever in

constructing out of painted palm-leaf and coloured

paper ; outlandish forms of fish, grinning dragons,

and amusing absurdities. They make tiny but

clever painted earthenware models of their ladies at

a feast, with very little to eat perhaps for so numer-

ous a company : the figures dressed in gay scraps of

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 199

stuff are seated on the ground, standing, or kneeling,

but always bending forward the left elbow in what

is their ideal of refined elegance in feminine attitude.

I enjoyed my trip so much that I was sorry I had

to rush home to dress for Mr. Michell's dinner-

party. From my room I heard processional music

still going on outside, and operatic sounds from

single instruments, and then a crash, sounding like

a Wagnerian grand finale. They were removing the

ashes of the cremated princes to their final resting-

place in the palace. I could see the standards and

parts of the procession from my windows : but

processions had palled upon us, and we did not care

to go outside to look on.

They have spread a collection of Siamese musical

instruments on a carpet on the floor of the yellow

drawing-room, between the writing-room and the

large marble vestibule.

The instruments are one large European drumand one smaller drum ; two harmonicas in the shape

of ivory boats, on stands, with keys of resonant

bamboo. This resonant bamboo is extremely rare,

and precious accordingly. One of these harmonicas

has three octaves, the other instrument, lower in

tone, has two-and-a-half octaves.

A light frame, nearly a circle, made of bamboo, is

set with a sort of bells of white metal ; the per-

former sits cross-legged in the centre of this instru-

ment and strikes the bells around him. Two violon-

cello-shaped instruments with three strings played

with a plectrum. Two pairs of a Siamese form of

cymbals.

200 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

A sort of vase of Siamese nielloed metal-work,

shaped like a bottle, with serpent-skin at the open-

ing for a drum : with this is a metal disk to fix on

the foot and strike at the same time as the serpent-

skin is beaten. The instrument is said to be Malayan.

A sort of violin played with a short bow. Twosets of ordinary cymbals and bones of an ornamental

kind complete the orchestra. They are very pretty

instruments, especially the boat-shaped harmonicas,

which are extremely elegant. About fifteen mencompose the band, which is the same that came to

England and played at the ' Healtheries ' exhibition.

The bandsmen, who are unusually dark for Siamese,

look like Christy minstrels in their European

evening-dress and white ties.

We listened to this Siamese band, now brought into

the great vestibule, till it was time to drive down to

the pier where we were to take boat to go to tbe

dinner-party. The musicians played brilliantly.

Solos on the harmonica, accompanied by the violin

played by a small lad with the fingers and no bow,

produced a rippling fountain of sound truly

delicious. They wound up with ' Rule Britannia,'

an air with running passages particularly well-

suited to their instruments, as we went away to the

carriages.

We met the broken-up funeral procession on its

return, but it did not delay us much. We went in

the steam-launch to the Oriental Hotel, where Mr.

Michell received thirty-six guests, ladies and gentle-

men, at a well-served European dinner, with punkahs

waving—the only time we saw them used in Siam.

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 201

It seemed very home-like, and gave us a good

idea of the state of European society out in those

far-off regions. The journey by moonlight on the

river back to the Palace of Calm Delights was

delightful.

I found a beautiful bowl of flowers on my table

on coming home. The room was bathed in the

perfume of the green flowers with long green leaves,

a sort of night-scented daphne, only more lemon-

like in freshness, and with larger leaves and

blossoms.

The Siamese cultivate flowers that are scented at

many difierent times of the day or night, and they

plant them in their gardens in situations according

to the rooms they chiefly use at these certain hours

of the day—or night. The small white mali flowers

the children wear round their top-knots are early

night-scented.

Monday, February 27th.—Our last day in Bang-

kok, and cloudy, so that we can use it to advantage.

"While the others are all gone out shopping, I have

asked young Mr. Swinn to take me to see the two

great temples, Wat Poh and Wat Chang, or Giant

Temple.

The walled enclosure of the Wat Poh, or Father

of Temples, surrounds a marvellous gathering of

religious buildings of most varied form, colour, and

strangeness ; a wondrous mingling of the grotesque

and picturesque, with needle-pointed spires so

numerous that it is said no one has ever been able

to count the pagodas twice alike.

These groups of temples and clusters of pointed

202 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

pagodas are all set in a pavement of diagonal slabs

broken at intervals by flowering shrubs, such as

oleanders, jasmines, and temple-trees, and many

plants new to me, partitioned off occasionally with

fences of pierced and enamelled tile's, blueish-green,

brown, and dark blue, that look like Chinese manu-

facture, and set about with pagodas and images

either of earthenware, or carved in stone of wildest

and most demoniac hideousness.

In one of the temples the cloisters are lined with

rows of gilded Buddhas seated cross-legged in

meditation, the attitudes being only slightly varied.

The image usually has the right hand on its knee ;^

sometimes the left hand has a coin, a spherical old

tical, or a jewel in it, or it is extended patiently

.waiting to receive it as alms. Occasionally, but

rarely, the right hand holds a tical. Behind the

seated Buddhas the bo-tree is often represented.

There are nine hundred of these images ; their height

from the foot of the pedestal to the crown of the

head measures nine feet. Before one Buddha of

enormous height a gilded elephant kneels in adora-

tion, lifting up his trunk as they are trained to do

in homage to their superiors. The elephant is their

symbol of wisdom, but I have seen no elephant-

headed idols here in Siam like the Hindu images of

Ganesh, the god of wisdom.

The colossal figure of the dying Buddha in another

temple is the most striking object I have seen in

Bangkok. This massive recumbent figure reaching

to the lofty roof is fitted in between the rows of

massive square red columns ; its head, reclining on

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 203

the right arm, is almost lost to sight among the

beams of the roof, but its appearance is thus rendered

only the more mysterious and profoundly striking.

The figure is solidly gilt all over, in gilding of

quite appreciable thickness, now peeling off in large

pieces of gilt black stucco, which are strewn all

round the figure, but in its vast size the blotches

are scarcely perceptible. The length of this great

gilded Buddha is one hundred and sixty feet, the

length of the sole of the foot is seventeen and a half

feet. The foot soles of this gigantic figure are

elaborately wrought with Siamese inlaid work in

mother-of-pearl on black, with scenes from the life

of Buddha ; the elephants and the figures generally,

with the flowers and arabesques, are all inlaid so as

to give full value to the colours of the pearl.

Buddha is always imaged in one of the three

attitudes : reclining asleep ; cross-legged in medita-

tion under the bo-tree ; or standing preaching.

When the standing figure is benedictory, mostly the

first finger meets the thumb of the raised right

hand, the other three fingers are extended straight.

So placid is his expression, that one always yawns

on looking at a Buddha. The black doors and

shutters of some of these temples are likewise

admirably inlaid with this Siamese marqueterie, of

which specimens are so rare in Europe, and will

always be rare, as the art is dying out. YoungMr. Swinn was not extravagantly interested in

architecture, but he seemed to think it delightfully

funny that I should be so ; it was altogether a newlight to him, and he became much more interested

204 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

himself in the temples in showing them to me. Hehad been here and to Wat Chang frequently in pro-

cessions and on state occasions, but had never con-

cerned himself with the buildings themselves. While

in England he had not visited St. Paul's nor West-

minster Abbey, though he had been taken to the

Crystal Palace and the Houses of Parliament. This

Wat Poh is an old temple, or rather group of temples,

and is, as I expected to find it, superior in its decora-

tion to that ofthe Emerald Buddha, which is new. Afamily with several children, male and female, have

the charge of these temples, and run about merrily

and harmlessly all over the inclosure. A great alli-

gator lives in a pond among the rockwork of the

temple-garden, but he did not show himself to us,

though we enticed him with soft words.

From here we walked by way of the ever pictur-

esque city walls to our usual landing-place, intending

to signal to the yacht for a boat to ferry us across to

the Wat Chang. We saw the steam-launch actually

going our way, but our signals failed to hail her, and

Mr. Swinn pushed off in a Siamese boat and asked

for the dinghy to be sent for me. He did not like

me to go in one of the Siamese cockle-shells, not

because it was risking a ducking, but because he

considered it infra dig.

We crossed the river, broad here at the bend,

to Wat Chang, the most recently built of the larger

temples in Bangkok. Of fine and imposing aspect

as viewed from a distance, this huge, effective,

daring, and absurd pagoda is perhaps the drollest

piece of architectural decoration ever evolved from

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 205

human brain. It is stuck all over with shells and

pottery-ware like a grotto built by children on the

1st of August. This the ' Best Crockery temple ' is

the culmination of the fancy that decorates our

interior walls with dinner-plates and cups and

saucers. Mrs. Leonowens, governess to the present

king of Siam and his brothers, tells in one of her

books the true love-tale of a lovely artless girl whowas employed in pounding pottery with a club for

Wat Chang when her lover first saw her. Amongthe shells arranged in patterns of stars are broken

bits of green, red, and yellow earthernware, and rows

of blue saucers, many of them broken, and series of

smaller saucers in yellow ware, and dinner-plates of

many colours all carefully broken in five or /H r\six pieces to represent petals of great flowers.C^/CHThe distant efi^ect is good in its way, and quaint ^v>to the last degree. It is the apotheosis of bric-a-brac.

The entrance to the principal wat appertaining to

this giant pagoda is guarded by a row of lions, and

two monster figures of armed warders holding clubs.

The heads of these huge demon-like guards reach

above the tiled roof of the peristyle nearly to the

high-pitched central gables of the wat. The four

pagodas at the angles are all alike, and are merely

simplified reductions of the great central pagoda.

The temple is agreeably situated in a grove of tall

trees with turf and paved walks.

Towards evening a large party of us went in three

carriages to Wat Sahk^t, the temple and cremation-

ground of the common people. This was a duty

we had postponed to this our last day on account

of its unpleasant nature.

206 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

Sir John Bowring in his ' Siam ' says :' If the

deceased have ordered that his body shall be deliv-

ered to vultures and crows, the functionary cuts it

up and distributes it to the birds of prey which are

always assembled. I have heard Parsees regret in

China that they lose the privilege of having their

remains carried by winged messengers to all quar-

ters of Heaven.' This poetical idea is fallacious, at

least as regards Bangkok, for the vultures remain

wedded to their position on the pinnacles of the

"Wat Sahk^t. Mrs. Leonowens, a good authority in

respect of her long residence at the Siamese Court

and her knowledge of- the language, says the rite of

burning the body after death is held in great vene-

ration by the Siamese Buddhists, as they believe

that, by this process, its material parts are restored

to the higher elements ; whereas burial, or the aban-

donment of the body to dogs and vultures, signifies

that the body must then return to the earth and

pass through countless forms of the lower orders of

creation before it can again be fitted for the occupa-

tion of a human soul.

This is' evolution with a vengeance. Extremes

meet. We boast of our advancement and are begin-

ning to talk of evolution and cremation ; the Siamese

made up their minds about these subjects ages ago.

Mr. Cobham went to the chamber of horrors

\vhere the bodies are cut up for the vultures. Thefunctionaries were at work, and he counted eighty

birds waiting for the ghastly feast. It was enough

for me to see at different times Mr. Swan as well as

Mr. Cobham come back from this spectacle looking

pale and ill.

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 207

We went to the large sheds, at this time empty,

where the better classes of Siamese are cremated,

The lowest cost of the ceremonial is ten shillings. Thebodies ofthose whose families cannot afford this sum,

five ticals, are distributed to the crows and vultures.

Two tall, slender obelisks are erected near the

Wat Sahket in memory of the pure lovers, BM4t,

the priest, and Tuptim, ' the pomegranate,'—whosuffered death and torture in the last reign for their

faith to each other. The inscription on the obelisks

runs thus :' Suns may set and rise again, but the

pure and brave BM&t and Tuptim will never morereturn to this earth.'

Mrs. Leonowens, the governess at the Court, says

she knew the girl, and had taught her to read andwrite English.

STORY OF BALAT AND TUPTIM.

The outline of the tale runs thus : The fair and

artless Tuptim, not yet sixteen, was pounding

pottery for the decoration of Wat Chang, when,

perceiving she attracted the notice of the king, she

sank down and hid her face among the vases and

fragments of earthenware. The king did no more just

then than inquire her name and parentage. Later

she was sent for to the palace and was given a betel-

box made like a pomegranate (after her name Tup-

tim) of gold inlaid with rubies, that shut and opened

with a spring. But still she hid herself from the

king, as she was in love and had been betrothed to

a priest called BMdt. One day she was lost alto-

gether, escaping the Amazons on guard at the

208 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

harem. She escaped in the dress of a young priest to

the temple where B414t was serving, having shaved

her hair and eyebrows so that her lover did not

know her. She was discovered and brought to trial

before the women-judges, her feet and hands heavily

fettered. But the child's voice was firm and

unflinching.

The priest lover was recognised from his namewritten in English concealed in her girdle, and he was

taken and condemned to torture. Tuptim pleaded for

him that she alone was guilty, that he knew nothing

of her escape, that he did not even know her.

^^"Gn^MrSjJ^iQnofflfins interceding for her with the

king, Tuptim was reprieved from death and con-

demned to work in the rice-mill, but he again

changed his mind and had them both executed ; she

declaring to the last, ' All the guilt was mine, I knewthat Iwas a woman and he did not.' Bdldt and Tuptim

suffered death by fire publicly outside the cemetery

and the moat enclosing the Wah Sahket. One day

the king said to Mrs. Leonowens, ' I have muchsorrow for Tuptim, for I now believe she was inno-

cent. I had a dream that I saw Tuptim and Bdl&t

floating together in a great wide space, and she

bent down and touched me on the shoulder, saying,

" We were pure and guiltless on earth, and look, weare happy now."

'

Thence we ascended the easy, though somewhatruinous, stairs of brick and stone, winding up out-

side the old and picturesque tower close by, that

commands a view of the whole of Bangkok set in

its greenery. The Menam is invisible, or nearly

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 209

SO, for the roofs of its bordering houses, but the

broader canals, with their fragile fairy bridges,

make a pleasing feature in the centre of the soft,

strange landscape fading off in distance, its crowded

details imperceptibly melting into the ocean-like

blue of the richly-wooded level country. From this

tower you seem to be midway in the air, looking

down upon a city of trees. The Premane and its

dazzling palaces filled up one quarter of the view

from aloft. To-morrow their place will be empty;

to-morrow also Bangkok will know us no more.

The sun was setting red over the softly purpling

grey distances, lights were beginning to glimmer

in the dense groves of plantain and palm, as wesat long on the weed-grown wall of the tower,

gathering the calotropis* and many tufted flowers of

sorts we never knew before, and shall most likely

never see again. The satisfied vultures had wheeled

aloft, and returned to their dismal eyrie on the Towers

of Death. Here, in this solemn evening hour, we,

too, though not akin to these hospitable dusky people

in race or thought, felt we could join in the Buddhist

evening hymn

:

' O Thou, who art Thyself the light.

Boundless, in knowledge, beautiful as day,

Irradiate my heart, my life, my sight,

Nor ever let me from Thy presence stray 1'

We wound up with a drive round the now nearly

dismantled Premane. It was difiicult to believe

that this scene of wreck, the skeleton of festivities,

Avas the once dazzling temple and garden of wildest,

strangest, and most extravagant pleasure.

" Note B, Appendix.

P

210 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

The Siamese bandsmen, who had not removed

their quaint but charming instruments, came again

this evening to give us a concert of farewell. They

struck up their wild rivers of melody as we came

into the great vestibule, dressed for dinner, and

then carried their instruments into the galleries

of the inner court of the palace, to play to us

also during dinner. We and our numerous Siamese

visitors made quite a festival of this parting ban-

quet. They placed on the table bowls of the long

lemon-leaved green flowers, which, in their lan-

guage of flowers, mean tears of absence ; we also

wore the sweet, night-scented blossoms and lemon-

like leaves. The musicians echoed our sentiment,

as they played a north-country air of Lao, the

birth-place of many of them ; for the Laosians are

i-eally the most musical of the Siamese race. Theband played a love-song of their Lao land with

a vocal obligate accompaniment between the verses

;

reversing our way of singing the verses and playing

the symphony, they play the tune, and sing the sym-

phonies. The voice—though they were very proud

of their singer—was too much of a cat-howl to be

musical; but the music itself is wild, melodious,

and very pleasing. The ' Lament of the Heart '

—

which they played especially for us—is a favourite

Laosian air. Perhaps still more pleasing to mewas the ' Dream of a Day in Paradise

'; its rippling

and rustling sounds recalled the soft green forests

of Ayuthia watered by its four rivers.

Gone are they, but I have them in my souL'

'The music of the Siamese Peguans and Laos

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM. 211

differs from that of most Indian nations in being

plaj'ed upon different keys, a feature which charac-

terises the pathetic music of certain Europeans, andin particular the Scottish and Welsh nations.' *

When they played the ' Sailors' Hornpipe,' in

compliment to the Duke as a yachtsman, we all

tapped an obligato accompaniment with the hafts

of our knives, and sang ' Jack Robinson.' All

English are mad, doubtless thought the silent,

blandly-smiling, heathen Chinees, as they waited

at table, puzzled by the unusual frenzy—and at

our laughter, as the band gave, with great spirit,

the grand chain-figure of the original ' Lancers.'

We had a rival band, for Aleck played the pipes;

and then it transpired that one of the bandsmenknew how to play the pipes too ; so Aleck let himtry, and we shouted with laughter, as we saw the

Siamese piper walking up and down the gallery out-

side, imitating Aleck's Highland swagger to the life,

and the playing itself was not half bad for an

unaccustomed hand.

There is apparently no more difference between

the Lao pipes and those Aleck uses than there is

between the Highland and the Northumbrian pipes.

The Greeks and Romans we know from sculpture

had bag-pipes precisely like those of the High-

landers. Very probably the instrument descended

south-eastward as well as north-westward, from a

common hill-centre in Asia's highlands, a water-

shed of music. The Siamese are proud of their

descent from certain hill-tribes of Thibet, called

* Leonowens.

p 2

212 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

the 'Free.' Mr. Clerevaulx Fenwick, in his re-

marks on 'Bag-pipes and Pipe-music,' disputes

Pennant's view of the pipes having been introduced

into Britain by the Romans, by the fact of the

use of these instruments having been almost ex-

clusively confined to the northern part of our island.

' One of the Canterbury pilgrims was a bag-piper.'

The use of the bag-pipes, however, in the south

of England is, and appears always to have been,

extremely rare.'

Pickering thinks the Siamese are of Malay origin

I

—most Europeans regard them as mainly Mon-V., golian^(Mrs. Leonowens thinks more probably they

belong to the Indo-European family) According

to the researches of the late King of Siam, out of

twelve thousand eight hundred Siamese words more

than five thousand were found to be Sanskrit, or

to have their roots in that language. There is

great family likeness between the Siamese and the

photographs of the Thibet and Sikkim people in

the India Museum. They are not at all like the

Bhotans, or other upper Indian tribes. I took one

of the Thibetan photographs for a portrait of our

chamberlain. The royal family are not so muchlike the Thibetan type, and they are small-made—but

then, something like our own royal family, the kings

are always obliged to marry their cousins.

The Siamese language has a soft musical sound

like Italian, but they find little difficulty in learn-

ing our harsher English, as it has far greater

similarities of pronunciation with Siamese than has

either French or German.

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN 8IAM. 21i}

The Siamese hymn and ' Rule Britannia ' were

played, and ' God Save the Queen,' all standing,

concluded the concert. The Duke is Conservative

and very loyal.

For a Palace of Calm Delights they gave us a

pretty fair orgy.

The chamberlain, Phya Bamreubhakdi, regrets

that the fortnight's ceremonies have prevented his

giving the Duke a great entertainment ; but it is

not the custom to give feasts during the festivities

of the cremation. After excbanges of cards and

invitations to visit in England and Siam, wegathered all our small luggage to take down with

us in numerous carriages and boats to the yacbt,

which had been sent by daylight some distance

down the river to avoid the difficulty of steering bynight through the maze of shipping in the Menam.We were accompanied to the Sans Peur by the

chamberlain and his son. Prince Doctor, Mr. Michell,

and Mr. Solomon, the inspector of police, as well as

some other Englisb gentlemen. In the moonlight

row down the river, the fantastic spires gleaming

bright upon us, forgetting the earthy flavours of

Bangkok, we sentimentalised as we felt its balmy

air for the last time. ' Ta, ta, by-bye,' we called as

we passed Sir Andrew Clarke's yacht, where it

seemed they had all gone to bed. We got on board

about eleven o'clock, and soon Sir Andrew with a

party of gentlemen came alongside in a steam-launch

and came on board for farewell.

Siam is different from anything else in the world.

Providence has placed two large seas between us

2 Li THIRTY SEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

and those far eastern countries ; they can never

become hackneyed to us. Much of their art work-

ntianship and general civilization has filtered to them

from the west through China. Siam's customs have

so altered since Bowring's book was published in

1857 that this work seems almost to treat of an-

other country. When my husband was in Siam

also thirty years ago he made copious notes of the

condition of the people and aspect of the country.

From his MS. journal, which I carried with me, I

was able to see in how many ways the Siamese had

made progress under their present king, and to judge

whether the advance is solid or frothy. As regards

those outward signs of advancement : telegraphs,

electric lighting, cheap postage, newspapers, &c.,

they are not so very far behind us, after all ; for it

is only in the present reign that we have had these

advantages ourselves. It is true the foreign post

from Bangkok is as yet casual : Mr. Michell used to

say of our letters, ' Oh, put them in, post them, I

daresay they'll go.'

The Bangkok Times, now deep in its third volume,

is a bi-weekly institution. The Siam Directory, one

might say, has taken a leaf out of our society papers

when it chronicles in its notable events as a notable

day, that on which Lady Robinson held a reception

in 1878.

Thirty years, and indeed thirty months, ago

there was no hotel in Bangkok ; thirty years since

there was not a single hospital in this city of half-a-

million of souls for the reception of patients native

or European : though at that date they practised vac-

THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IiV SIAM. 215

cination, even in the remoter parts of the countrj'.

Now there is more than one good hospital.

Amongst the Europeans located on shore the

most fatal disease is dysentery ; it is usually intract-

able unless change of air is resorted to. Smallpox

used to be one of the most fatal diseases with

natives : vaccination is now deemed protective. Thenatives suffer much from asthma, even the little

children ; but Europeans are not similarly afflicted.

Siamese of all ages smoke tobacco and chew betel-

nut ; this latter habit causes the gums to recede and

the teeth to drop out, usually between forty andfifty years of age. Toothache is rare, and the ex-

traction of one by the forceps or key is an event in

a family. In Siam there are many Europeans of

long residence in good health, and the natives

frequently attain a good old age. Ulcers are treated

by the native empirics with a sort of chalk plaster

;

but they do not appear to be so frequent as with

the Burmese, nor do ulcers afflict horses as in Bur-

mah. Intermittent fevers are easily treated in

Europeans, but the natives suffer much. Thejungle or bilious remittent fever is sometimes fatal

to Europeans, terminating in coma, but no black

vomit. Where there is a phthisical tendency, the

climate is said to be beneficial ; but if the disease is

developed it runs its course quickly. At the

changes of the monsoons are the most sickly periods.

Children after seven days of age die much of lock-

jaw; itis supposed to be caused by constipation and the

smoke from the perfumed wood-fires to which mother

and child are subjected according to Siamese custom.

216 THIRTY YEARS' PROGRESS IN SIAM.

Rice with fish is the staple diet of the native

population, to which they add yams, sweet potatoes,

coco-nuts, bananas, and the fruits of the season. In

what Gibbon calls ' the gigantic ignorance of the

ancients ' is pretty much the mental condition of the

bulk of the population ; though perhaps it is not

much greater than ours in relation to them. The

upper classes are doing all they can to diminish this

ignorance by European education, from which young

Siam goes back to benightenment.

Polygamy is the rock royalty in Siam will split

upon, and aristocracy too ; not only because it is so

degrading and so sensual, but because it is ex-

pensive to the nation, which finds itself called on to

maintain vast families of useless people, to provide

them with a costly living, and a still more expensive

cremation.

The Siamese have always liked and admired, the

English, and now, by our acquisition of the whole

of Burmah, a troublesome natural enemy to themhas been replaced by a friendly power. This is, of

course, greatly to their advantage ; only their timid-

ity makes them fear that we may some day care to

conquer and annex Siam as suddenly as we did

Burmah. This it is not our interest to do ; the

onlycircumstanceof this kindat present conjecturable

would be that of our having to prevent France from

taking the initiative, andplacing a formidable French

barrier between India and the far eastern world.

' The anchor's weighed—farewell—remember me,'

said Prince Doctor, and waved his Siamese lily-hand.

217

CHAPTER TX.

RBTUKN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

Some isle

With the sea's silence on it

—

Some unsuspected isle in the far seas.

Pippa Passes.

Chapter on snakes. There are plenty of snakes in

Siam. Not only are the'poisonons land-snakes very

numerous, but Captain Chune, a native officer of

tlie Siamese Royal Navy, gave my husband such a

list of the poisonous water-snakes and fishes as to

make it appear as risky for a ship's company to

go fishing as for them to bathe -without the protec-

tion of a sail in waters abounding in sharks. Theblack snake, which was yesterday seen on the sur-

face of the water, is called by the Siamese Ochitung;

the signifies a snake, and chi-tung means the tail

of a pendant. The length of this black snake is

about one foot. Its bite is very poisonous, and the

Siamese treatment of the wound is a matter of the

most secret empiricism. It is generally fatal in

eight hours, and the patient seldom survives beyond

a day.

Another snake seen in these waters is between

218 RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

two and three feet long, of a white colour with

black spots. Its movements are slow in the water.

The Siamese name for it is 0-sanim-lung, meaning

snake, sanim-lung is like coral, for the creature, in

juxtaposition to the coral reef, is not easily distin-

guishable. The bite of this snake is very poison-

ous, and it appears to kill by coma within six hours,

no reaction at any time exhibiting itself from the

period of the bite to that of dissolution. These

snakes are in great plenty at the mouth of Siamese

rivers, or most numerous where the salt and fresh

waters meet.

Another species of snake is found in the fresh

waters of Siam, called Opra (expressing fish-snake),

or 0-wung-chang, a name derived from their like-

ness to an elephant's trunk. Their movements are

slow, and, excepting being white under the belly,

are the colour of the elephant's proboscis. Their

bite is poisonous, but not deadly. The Siamese

treat it with a poultice made of pounded wild garlic.

There is a poisonous fish named in Siamese

0-how-pra-shon. 0-how means a poisonous snake,

and pra-shon is the name of a fish which it resembles,

which is of good quality, and extensively salted in

Siam for exportation. This poisonous fish is not

easily recognised amongst others. Its movementsare slow ; its bite causes instant insensibility. OneSiamese, bitten in the trunk, died in an hour ; an-

other, bitten in the ankle, died in two hours. It is

of great consequence to the Siamese, an amphibious

people, to know the habits of these creatures infest:

ing their waters, in order to avoid their haunts.

RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 219

Even the youngest children are skilful in the man-

agement of their light boats, and infants learn to

swim before they are well out of their mothers'

arms.

Steamers drawing but little water take the short

cut through a small channel named Mung-nakawn-

keon-kong, which cuts off a long bend in the river

to within five hundred yards of Paklat. This pas-

sage is about twenty-five yards wide, and the vessels

kiss the bushes in the intricate navigation. Ships'

boats must here use paddles, as is the native cus-

tom ; the oars take too much room. The bamboohouses are built on piles, as elsewhere, though the

clayey banks of the stream are somewhat high. Thehouse of the governor of the district is passed on

the left going down. This is substantially built of

wood on huge piles of teak ; some neat carving de-

corates the windows, the roof is covered with red

tiles. The channel is crossed by two wooden bridges,

the centre-piece shifting to allow the steamers' fun-

nels to pass through. There are some pretty wats

also on the left bank, whose white pagodas and

minor buildings display much symmetry and beauty.

Among the bamboos and palm-trees, the bread-fruit,

and dark polished bushy foliage of the mangosteen,

are numerous stacks of sappan-wood Caesalinnia

sappan ; many pheasants and rooks in coveys are

seen in this district, although it is highly populous,

abounding in children in prodigious numbers

—

Buddhist children do not throw stones at birds.

Back to Paknam again ; this place used to be

called the sanatorium of Bangkok, but now the king

220 RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

and the great people go to Chantabon and other

sea-side places lower down the Gulf of Siam. Wemet with a smooth sea after passing the bar, andfound it pleasanter sailing down in sight of the

chain of islands, named Kohsichand, than the waywe came in by the stake-nets in the entrance to the

rivers Menam and Mekong.

It was a lazy time for all of us, and we were

glad of the repose. Mr. Swan came up, looking

like a plaster cast, in a suit of spotless white, with

old silver ticals for buttons. He flung himself downon the deck in the attitude of the Dying Gladiator.

He calls himself a whited sepulchre.

' How can the lif§ of the party be a sepulchre?'

Mr. Cobham asks.

We call him the 'White Swan.' Mr. Swan lives

up to his name, and is always doing things grace-

fully. He was just now lamenting the difficulty

of getting away gracefully from parties in Singa-

pore :' if your gharrie-driver has gone to sleep,

and has to be roused with a stick.'

The globe lapsed lazily by us. In the sky was a

curious eiFect of blue and white rays from the

sinking sun, like a wheel with spokes of .solid white

on the blue atmosphere, both colours extending

nearly to the disk. We saw this atmospheric

phenomenon once, on a later occasion, but less

distinctly. In the sea what I thought were cur-

rent lines—like we see on the Devonshire coast

—look, as we pass through them, just like mud,

mixed with dark-brown scraps, seemingly of sea-

weed. The sailors, by the mouth of the ' bos'un,'

RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 221

say that it is spawn. The voyage down to Singapore

was a four days' rest from moonlight to moonlight.

Delicious dreamy days ! The sailors, jolly at the

thought of going home to sweethearts, wives, and

children, sing songs on the after-deck of an evening.

We hear now ' Among the flowers and roses with

Emalee 1 roamed.' Then comes the description of

her person :' Her faiiy teeth and golden 'air ; her eyes

were like the little stars.' This elegant female ' cameout of Yorkshire ; her name is Emalee.' I, too, was

happy in the idea of returning to my family.

On the third day, we had scenery of unsuspected

islands in the China Sea, one of them rugged,

lofty, wooded, and of respectable size; but all beau-

tiful, as touched by the pearly hues of sunset, as

we ' see ebb the crimson wave that drifts the sun

away.' The Siamese represent these islanders as

harmless, though usually armed with krises, spears,

and pistols on approaching a stranger ! Bullocks

and turtles are abundant on these islands, which

are densely jungle-clothed. It was the Siamese

ambassadors returning to Bangkok, on board H.M.S.

Pylades, in 1858, who gave this information to myhusband; for our people on the Sans Peur knewnothing about these islands.

A good run of two hundred and sixty-two miles

on the fourth day brought us, at lunch-time, in

sight of a zebra-striped lighthouse, and countless

islets, bluest of the blue—a zone of sapphires.

There are any number of passages among that reef

of islands, which looks, as we approach them, like

one long coast, as they stretch down right away

222 RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

to Borneo. Pretty scenery, and a great pagoda of

a ship, with royals set, five tiers of sails, all white,

looking so different from the vessels we have been

lately seeing. We anchored about five p.m. at

Singapore.

We are come in the nick of time, as there is

to be a sham-fight this evening between the squad-

ron and the fort. We are in a good position for

seeing it. How English the whole place looks after

Siam ! the Indian and Malay boats count for no-

thing now. Officials approach.

'This is, indeed, a great moment,' says the Duke,

as the Prime Minister of the Sultan of Johore is

announced, looking for all the world like a neat

English groom.

He brought a letter and a message. The Sultan

is in Singapore, and hopes soon to hear that his

Grace is able to come to Johore.

Does he include the ladies in his invitation ?

' Oh ! yes, indeed. His Highness 's heart will be full

of pleasure, if the ladies will favour him by a

visit.'

' Is there a Sultana?' we ask of Mr. Swan.' Just now he has only three wives.' (Ah ! that

'just now.') 'But he is building a new harem—

a

fine place.'

' That's hopeful.'

That hopeful might bear several interpretations.

We turn the palpitating subject.

Firing has begun ; there is also a large jungle-

fire in the distance, like a crimson sunset, which

more than divides our attention with the cannon-

RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 223

ade and the flashes, the lilac-tinted electric-light,

and the manoeuvres, which are veiled in mystery

and coloured smoke. ' Mystery of mysteries, faint-

ly flashing Heroine,' we remark, as H.M.S. Heroine

puts her boats in motion for the purpose of—what ?

Never of capturing the Sans Peur ! She seems

'going for' us. No; the boarding-boats are lost

in the dim distance of smoke.

A semi-circle of lights marks the town of Singa-

pore ; on the darker semi-circle of the horizon are

the squadron of eleven ships-of-war, and the forts

with the electric-light playing all round in blinding

rays, and the red moon above the dying jungle-fire.

We learnt more of the meaning of the manoeuvres

later, and this is what was represented before us

in a grand set-piece of nautical theatricals.

A SHAM NIGHT-ATTACK ON SINGAPORE HARBOUR;

A NAVAIi ROMANCE.

The naval attack was made by five vessels of

the^China Squadron on the eastern entrance to the

New Harbour, with the object of testing the effi-

ciency[of the defences which have been constructed

at that point, and also that of the submarine mines

which were supposed to have been laid.

The defence was entrusted to the Royal Artillery,

with a battery of quick-firing guns, the Royal

Engineers, about four companies of the 2nd Bat-

talion South Lancashire Regiment, and six steam-

launches acting as guard-boats. The whole of the

details in connection with the operations had previ-

ously been carefully arranged by the naval and

22i RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

militarj'^ authorities in conjunction, under a general

Idea which gives a hard pull on one's imagination.

The Onon ironclad has been worsted in an engage-

ment with a hostile squadron outside, and has taken

refuge in New Harbour disabled ; the squadron

engages the guns of the harbour defensive works

and attempts to force the eastern entrance to the

harbour. The Orion is to be considered disabled,

—

we, knowing the great ironclad, and having seen

her monster guns when we were at the ball on board

on our previous visit to Singapore, found it difficult

to realise this part of the Idea; but it is interesting

to know how the gallant ship we had known in

festivity is expected or intended to behave herself

in adversity. She is so disabled as to be unable to

co-operate in the defence beyond sending a fewofficers and men to assist in working the guard-

boats. The western entrance to the harbour is

supposed to be blocked. The infantry garrisons at

Forts Blakan-Mati and Serapong will be supposedto consist of one company each.

This is the programme ; now for the action. FortTeregah fired the first shot at 6.211, p.m., at theAiidacious, which was then supposed to be (andperhaps really was) at two thousand, five hundredyards distance. Fort Palmer's guns next madethemselves heard, fire being opened from them at

6.22. This fort engaged the Constance. Fort Bla-

kan-Mati at 6.24 engaged the Heroine, and from this

time the firing from the three forts was pretty

regular. The Constance replied to Fort Palmer at

6.26. About this time, though it had become rather

RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 225

dark, it was observed that the Heroine was lowering

her boats, presumably for the purpose of attempt-

ing to countermine the entrance. We should not

have guessed this without being told ; indeed, wethought we should have to use our boarding-pikes

in the stand below to repel boarders.

At 6.27 the Alacrity brought her machine guns

into action, engaging the quick-firing guns at Malay

Spit; her fire was returned at 6. 28J. The Audacious,

at 6.43, opened fire with her machine-guns from

her tops, engaging the quick-firing guns at Berala.

About this time, and almost simultaneously, the

electric light was shown from Fort Teregah and the

Heroine ; the latter playing it on Blakan-Mati, andthe former sweeping the channel to prevent the

squadron's boats creeping in unobserved. The light

from Teregah was now brought to bear on the

Audacious, and she could be seen most distinctly.

Advantage was taken of this to send a few shots at

her. The Alacrity now brought her powerful light

into use, and throwing the beam on Fort Palmer,

after having carefully scanned the Sans Peur, she

kept it fixed on the fort during nearly the whole of

the remaining operations. They were supposed to be

in considerable dread of the Sans Peur, as a strong

privateer, not knowing which side she would be

likely to take in the action. The spectacle nowafforded was really magnificent : the various forts

engaging the different vessels with both machine

and heavy guns, the forts replying, the electric light

playing from the numerous ships and Fort Teregah;

the guard-boats steaming about at the entrance like

Q

226 RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

sharks eager for their prey—all went to make up a

sight such as Singapore has never before witnessed;

such indeed as has never before been seen in any

other port in the East—so I am told, and I believe it.

In imagination I was already preparing lint for

the wounded.

About seven p.m., the firing was very heavy when a

message was received by the commandant at Teregah

from the guard-boats, ' Enemy lowering boats.' Theengagement now altered its character and became a

boat-duel. The attacking boats continued to ad-

vance down the channel, being hotly engaged with

the flotilla of guard-boats, well handled by Lieu-

tenant Shuckburgh—the guard-boats darting in

amongst the others in an extremely plucky manner

;

the progress of the boats could be noted from the

track of smoke emitted from the musketry fire. It

was one of the prettiest sights of the evening to see

the boats creeping along in darkness, when suddenly

the whole would be illuminated by the beam of the

electric light being thrown upon them. It was

noticeable that the different vessels and boats

showed up most distinctly, their white colour being

apparently unsuitable for night operations. At 8.30

the admiral sent up from the flagship the pre-con-

certed signal, viz., three rockets and a blue light,

that the operations were concluded.

It was a fine thing for us to be in the midst of it

all, enjoying the glory of war without its horrors

;

the cries of the wounded only were missing, and

these we were able to imagine as easily as the rest

of the romantic suppositions, especially when Dark

RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 227

Charlie began to satisfy his soul by entering on the

practice of a wheezy cornopean which has recently

been discovered in the dark torture-chambers of the

hold.

While the inevitable coaling was going on, wewent to the Raffles Hotel to lunch and read the

papers, and learn what the world had been doing

during our sojourn in the obscurity of Siam. Weread just enough to keep abreast of the world, and

then went off to do our shopping;passing with more

interest than before the image of an elephant,

erected in memory of the King of Siam's visit ; the

first time a Siamese monarch had ever left his owndominions. King Chulalonkorn went also to Ceylon

and Calcutta, and all the chief sacred places of India.

The large town of Singapore appears so flourish-

ing and enlightened, so advanced and well-governed,

that, after seeing the quaint and crowded city of

Bangkok, we feel as if we had come out of the

theatre into the plain light of day. Bangkok seems

to belong completely to another world, where other

ideas reign exclusively, where buildings and pro-

cessions are of showy trumpery instead of being

solid or of good quality, and yet are in the highest

degree fascinating; a city made to live in water-

colours, not warranted otherwise to last. We were

glad to get away from the heavy atmosphere of Siam,

which is all one pot-pourri, into the fresher air of

Singapore ; but we were glad to have seen Bangkok

all the same. It feels cooler here, though we are

four days' sail nearer the equator, and though the

thermometer stands at 85" in the coolest part of the

q2

228 RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

day. After some shopping we took gharries, small

hearse-like cabs with jalousies, for the long drive to

the Peninsular and Oriental wharf, where the

Sans Peur, well scrubbed and scoured after the

coaling, had now been moved out into mid-stream of

the channel between the green island shores, a

pleasant situation for a rest, as we were to stay here

all Sunday and proceed on Monday morning to

Johore.

The deck-house table was strewn with cards, fresh

newspapers and letters, and a large basket of flowers

for the ladies, with no card attached.

'How does one thank unknown benefactors?' asks

the Duke. ' We shall have a serenade under our

ports to-night.'

' Ice, Charlie, look sharp, my boy,' says our stout

steward to the darkie lad, and iced cider and seltzer-

water appear as foaming cup.

The boat-loads of shells came round the yacht

again. These look so beautiful all wetted and in

the sunshine. Rose, the boatswain, bargained with

the black men very cleverly for us, and we brought

on board an immense quantity of lovely shells. TheDuke was for buying a boat-load as it stood, but wepreferred selecting from all the boats, which caused

a great and amusing excitement, and much panto-

mimic imploring among the black fellows, as Rose

laid down the law to them, and perhaps, after all,

only overpaid them three times over. We were

mutually pleased with our bargains. The greatest

trouble was in washing and packing the fragile shells

after we had admired them sufficiently.

RETURN TO THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. 229

We are lying in a pleasant strait of blue sea,

bordered by foliaged islands, with shipping beyond

and round the headland. This anchorage is more

like a reach of the rivers at Dartmouth or Falmouth

than an eastern place. Truly this is another world

from Bangkok ; such sweet and quiet rest for

Sunday, shaded by the double awnings, hearing no

sounds but the murmur of the water, a distant cock

crowing at intervals, and the hum of voices in boats

paddling past. A black boatman alongside in Sun-

day best of a blue shirt and grass-green mushroomhat with white half-moons round the brim, his boat

picked out with bright green and blue to match

his garments, is waiting about to see if the officers

or men have occasion for his services.

Thunder is rolling round us, and a shower while

the sun is shining makes the grass and foliage look

doubly green. It rains hot water here.

I went to the cathedral service in Singapore.

The church is very neat and nice inside, if you can

call that inside which is open like a cloister on both

sides. In the evening it is lighted mth gas, lit too

early, or rather turned up high too early, otherwise

every precaution is taken to ensure coolness ; the

church besides being shaded by trees, is open all round,

and has open cane seats set in dark wood. The sight of

the thirty-two punkahs tugged by different strings bythirty-two Moormen, waving out of time in all direc-

tions towards nave and transept, and not at the same

level, has a most bewildering effect. It makes some

people feel sea-sick. The punkahs should be moved by

one string as they are in large halls. The music is

230 RETURN TO TEE NINETEENTH CENTURA.

soft aud sweet, and for the most part congregational,

though there is a surpliced choir.

Major Grey, governor of the prison here, dined

with us, and from him we learnt how much better

and more humane our prison arrangements are than

those of the Chinese or Siamese. His great aim is

to lead the prisoners to a better life, and carefully

to distinguish between hardened criminals and those

capable of returning to be of use to society. Ourgovernment does not recognise the debt slavery often

incurred through gambling. Gambling altogether

has been prohibited in Singapore. Perhaps this is

one reason why the Chinese look so flourishing andhappy here.

' This is so good for the Sultan of Johore,' said

Mr. Swan, slily. ' He can finish the steam tram-line

and bnng over a thousand Chinese a day to gamblein his territory.'

231

CHAPTER X.

THE SULTAN OF JOHOKE.

Emeralds ! The colour, Fanny, of the light

Sifted through lime leaves, on a summer noon,

Or curl of crested wave, when foam-bells bright

Tinge the green furrows of the sea in June.

Sir Edwin Arnold.

' Has his Grace a Johore flag for the Sultan ?' asks

Mr. Swan of Mr. Butters. Mr. Swan is an author-

ity in right of some years' residence in these parts.

' No, he hasn't got a flag, has he?'

' Oh, very much a flag, a blue crescent and star

on a red ground.'

I off^ered to paint an Egyptian star and crescent

blue for the purpose.

' Suppose we call it somebody's birthday and

dress the ship with all her flags ?' proposed the

Duke. ' Who will have a birthday ? Perhaps he'll

make you a present.'

Omnes :' We'll all keep our birthdays.'

This was settled. Fourth of March the universal

birthday.

Now we are ofi^ to Johore ; we expect to stay

two da3'S with the Sultan. We pass up the

232 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

eastern passage from the island of Singapore to the

mainland of the Malayan peninsula, the southern

portion of which is the territory of Johore. The

mangrove-grown shores are broken by pretty little

Malay villages on stilts peeping out from among the

greenery.

"We reach Johore, with the Malay village of

Kranjie on the opposite side of the straits, soon

after five p.m. ' Midships !' and the anchor drops.

' That's the old railway-station,' says Mr. Swan,

our cicerone in these Malayan regions.

' Was there ever a railway here ?'

'Yes, but it was eaten up by the white ants.

They ran the engine on till it came to a place where

there were a good many of these ants ; the engine

fell into the hole, and they left it there. That was

the trial trip, and they were timber sleepers.'

We were about to see another phase of Oriental

life. The gay little town of Johore Bharu, a Malay

town, with an admixture of ten thousand Chinese,

centralised by a market-place of architectural pre-

tensions, with a sea-side portico built for the recep-

tion of the young Princes of Wales, was festive with

flags, and the shipping of small craft in the straits

was all gaily dressed with the Johore flag, dark-

blue with a red quarter charged with a white

crescent and star—but the precise colour does not

seem to signify greatly, so that it has the crescent

and star, and dark blue somewhere.

The belt of sea looks like a river, or, rather, like

a narrow lake, so blue and smooth. They say it

can be rough sometimes. The Sultan's house near

THE SULTAN OF JOHOB.E. 233

the sea appears a comfortable country-seat. Its

gardens slope down to the water's edge. It is set

in palm-trees and the beautiful ash-leafed tree,

poinciana regia, known as flamboyante, or flame of

the forest, with scarlet flame-like blossoms, and other

trees, some with what we should call autumn-tints

in Europe. The leaves do fall, even in the tropics,

though imperceptibly, so that but few trees are

bare at a time. Dato Sri Amar d'Raja, the Sultan's

private secretary, a highly intelligent young manin European dress, and speaking English fluently,

came with another Malay gentleman on board the

Sans Peur to meet us. The latter gentleman wore

the checked silk or cotton skirt, like a duster, round

his waist, that is the national sarong.

The Sultan, a stout, pleasant-looking man of

middle age, with olive complexion, wearing drab

clothes and gold bracelets, received us at the head

of the garden stairs of the palace and ofi^ered us

tea, which was spread on a large round table in the

entrance. The view of both shores of the straits

from this portico was truly charming.

We were shown our rooms : the Duke and weladies had each a pleasant suite of rooms apportioned

us, with bed-room, dressing-room, ante-room, anddrawing-room facing the sea, where we could see

the Sans Peur behind the palm-trees, and a bath-

room below each suite, approached by a winding

stair from the dressing-room. Instead of doors

there are screens raised eight inches from the

ground, fastened at the top, at about six feet from

the floor, with a sliding piece of carved wood. This

234 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

arrangement, only less ornamental, is the custom at

Singapore. There are no locks or bolts ; it is under-

stood that no one opens a door whose sliding-panel

is drawn across. Animals can run in under, but

only a very tall man can look over.

The Istana, as it is always called, the Malay word

for palace, is European, that is Anglo-Indian in

build ; in style Renaissance. It was built entirely

by Chinese workmen under a European architect.

It is internally handsome and well-furnished ; the

halls and rooms very large and lofty, and the marble

staircase broad and fine. The saloon and ball-room

on the first floor are hung with rich damask

draperies and large portraits of our royal family,

and lined with tall Japanese vases, brought homeby the Sultan from Japan, with other handsome

Chinese and Japanese ornaments ; the other furni-

ture, sofas, ottomans, &c., all European. The stair-

case and saloon have many tall trumpet glasses,

eight feet high, full of tall fronds, or rather boughs,

of the delicate phoenix rupicola variety of the date-

palm, the glasses twined with climbing - fern ; this

makes a most elegant and striking decoration, giving

an appearance as of a grove of palm-trees with their

gracefully waving plumes reared high above our

heads, though not nearly reaching the lofty ceiling.

The floral decorations all over the house are worthyof the tropics, besides the ferns so bright and green,

the various crotons and begonias so rich and dark

and velvety, and all so tropically luxuriant as

scarcely to be imagined by a Londoner.

As we met each other in a large verandah-like

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 235

room, common to all of us, between our private

apartments, we said, 'We shall enjoy this place

thoroughly ;' and we all secretly wished our stay

might be longer than the two days we had at first

almost unwillingly spared.

The Sultan appeared elegantly dressed for dinner,

in a monkey-jacket, with the order of the Star of

India, and a black velvet fez, with an aigrette of

large diamonds in the front ; half-a-dozen large

gipsy-rings on each hand, almost covering his dark,

fat little fingers ; the rings all rubies and diamonds

on one hand, all emeralds and diamonds on the

other. The secretary, Sri Amar d'Raja, was dressed

in real English fashion ; the other Malay gentlemen

wore black coats and trousers, and coloured check

sarongs. These Malays were less akin to Europeans

in feature than the Siamese, but I cannot see that

the Malays are a distinct race from all others ; I

trace Mongolian features in every line.

I was taken down to dinner by the Sultan, and

found him agreeable to talk to. His English is

good, though less perfect than that of some of his

suite. The very long dining-room is cooled by a

line of punkahs, and by open corridors on each

side, lined with ferns and other plants. The Sultan

bought in London the famous gold dinner-service

made for Lord Ellenborough when Governor-General

of India, and never sent out. A portion of this

was used to decorate the Sultan's table. The large

wine-coolers, filled with flowers, are heavy, but the

smaller pieces of this service, in Neo-Pompeian style,

are very elegant.

236 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

After dinner, we had a number of the Sultan's

carriages and gharries, and drove through the busy,

stall-crowded streets of the town to the Chinese

opera, where we sat in a kind of state barn, at

some distance, luckily, from the singers, who acted

on a raised stage, with a proscenium or frame round

it, and simple, fixed scenery. There was a promen-

ade parterre between us and them. The spectators

stared at us more than at the other spectacle.

More than ever was 1 struck with eastern costumes

as being such a mixture of nakedness and jewels.

The play had a good deal of casting up the legs,

and twirling, strutting, striding, and stalking, as

in our barn or fair-theatres, the nature of actors

being the same all the world over. The piece wasto us like a pantomime, with processions of first,

second, and third heroes, all equally heroic ; alter-

nately with four soldiers going round and round as

an army. The voices were mostly in falsetto. Thebest we could say of the singing was, 'It is a

beautiful inarticulate row.' The clashing of cym-bals, and thumping of serpent-skin cylinders anddrums was a din, and nothing less. In music, the

Chinese and Malays are very, very far behind the

Siamese, whose music is heavenly compared with

this ; indeed, it is very pleasing, and often delight-

ful—a real art, and not a discordant screaming andclashing.

We ladies had a carriage, and went home after

the opera; the rest waited to see the fire-works,

which I heard were tine, and then they went to the

Chinese gambling-house, which, it seems, is the

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 287

cHief fun here. Johore is considered an Asiatic

Monte Carlo.

The second breakfast, or tiffin, is nominally at

noon, though, as His Highness is easy-going and

unpunctual, and there are excursions to be con-

sidered, the hours at the Istana are not fixed as

fate. Time is no object here.

The excursion planned for to-day was a four-in-

hand drive to Singapore. In the Sultan's launch

we crossed the Straits to Kranjie, on the Singapore

Island, which island was sold to the English govern-

ment by the then Maharajah of Johore, passing the

Sans Feur, dressed rainbow-fashion with all her

flags. The white ship is a pretty feature in the

landscape as we see her from the palace windows

peeping between the palm-trees.

We are often told that no Mohammedan can

wear a hat with a brim, or stiff crown, of any kind,

which would prevent him bowing his forehead to

the earth in worship. Yet the Sultan of Johore

wears the pith-helmet, and most of the Malay gen-

tlemen wear billycock hats.

The red-gravelled road is extremely good, as all

the roads are round Singapore. The Sultan sat

on the" box, but did not drive. The fine horses

went capitally; the vegetation is beautiful andmost interesting, the ferny undergrowths being

especially charming; and the drive would havebeen perfection had not the thermometer stood at

92° in the shade ; in the lesser shade of our lined-

parasols, it was much higher.

Yes, the tropics are like Bull's hot-houses, only

238 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

you cannot get out of them We sat and cooled our-

selves in tlie verandah of the Raffles Hotel till four

o'clock, spelling the same old newspapers ; and then,

in other carriages, we drove to the Sultan's pretty

villa, Tyersall, some two miles out of Singapore,

where we had (Liberian) coffee and cream, a luxury

in the tropics, and examined His Highness's collec-

tion of Chinese and Japanese curios, imported by

himself. The Sultana lives at Tyersall. She is no

longer young ; but the Sultan esteems her highly,

and consults her in everything. It is true he has

other, younger, wives, but only the Sultana is a

power in the state. She possesses also the power of

the purse, for ' in Malay marriage contracts it is

agreed that all savings and " effects " are to be the

property of husband and wife equally, and are to be

equally divided in case of divorce.' * It is currently

reported that the Sultan has already spent his share,

or rather invested it in improvements, jewels, furni-

ture, and splendour ; and it is rumoured she gives

him an allowance. Any way, they seem an amiable

couple. He talks of re-building and enlarging her

house at Tyersall.

The fire-flies had come out by the end of our

drive back to Kranjie, where we took the steam-

launch to return.

The Sultan looks at Singapore as if he were sorry

he had sold it, and at times arises a sort of jealousy

of us ; at once quelled by the remembrance of the

advantage to himself, and his hopes for the future

in following our example closely.

* Bird.

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 239

There was a large dinner-party invited for half-past

seven, who all arrived just as we entered the Istana,

so we hastened to dress, and we were all ready long

before the Sultan, who kept us waiting till half-past

eight, while he opened his jewel-case and took out his

best black velvet tarboosh, with a still more magnifi-

cent aigrette enriched with the Johore star and

crescent in brilliants, and three orders—the Star of

India, St. Michael and St. George, and the Johore

star in diamonds and rubies—on his short, funny

little jacket.

The Sultan's wines are excellent and deliciously

cooled ; the still hock is a dream, but he andall the Mohammedan gentlemen take only water

at dinner;just one tumbler is set for them instead

of the sheaf of glasses standing by our plates. AnAmerican lady once came to give temperance lec-

tures at Johore ; the Sultan, who, like all his Moslemsubjects, drinks nothing but water or tea, spoke of

this with a keen twinkle of amusement. The Sultan

generally says, 'What you call' before he can re-

member the English name for things. He loves to

talk of his travels and of his reception, at various

times, at ' Marble ' (Marlborough) House. I sat

on His Highness's left this evening, and next to

Dato Meldrum, a Scotch gentleman, a botanist, long

resident here, who talked to me about the Johore

forests. Aleck played the pipes, walking round the

table ' by desire;' the fulness of his tartan kilt

being a matter of deep curiosity to the Malay visi-

tors and attendants, who wear their checked sarongs

so extremely scanty, not quite two yards and a

210 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

quarter round and one yard and- a quarter long,

ttough the men shorten it in the wearing by manyfolds, and the women drape it gracefully in a knot

at one side. The meaning of the Malay word sarong

is, literally, case or sheath. The. Siamese panung,

never worn with trousers, is an altogether different

arrangement, and very seldom of checked pattern,

which the sarong always is, whether of cotton or

silk. White or black jacket and trousers, and a

sarong is the costume of Malays of the upper class.

More of the gold EUenborough dinner-service was

used this evening ; the numerous golden candelabra,

twined with climbing fern, Cycopodiumjaponicum, and

the flower decorations were exquisitely arranged.

These are varied at every meal, and always tasteful.

We numbered eight English ladies at dinner this,

evening, chiefly from Johore and its neighbourhood.

On retiring from table, at a signal of numerousrockets from the Sans Peur, we all went out in the

garden to see the yacht lighted up with white andcrimson fires alternately aU along the ship, the reflec-

tions streaming down on the water in diamond andruby radiance, the masts and yards illuminated bya sheaf of rockets. It was a charming spectacle as

seen among the deeply-shadowed palm-trees.

As we took our coffee in the garden, the Sultan,

perceiving us from a distance, gallantly said, ' It is

a dream of fair women.' Distance and distraction

lent the requisite enchantment to the view.

We adjourned to the billiard-rooms, where they

played billiards and pool. I watched the games.

The Sultan is a fairly good player. Sentries walk

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 241

up and down the corridors here by the billiard-

rooms, near which is the Sultan's jewel-room, as

they do up and down the lower garden terrace-walk

between the Istana and the sea. These soldiers are

Sikhs, with white turbans and fierce, rolling eye-

balls.

The Sultan insisted on our staying longer at

Johore, and we were nothing loth to be pressed to

stay with this most hospitable host who did every-

thing to entertain us ; for every da}' there were

excursions and parties, and, but for collapse from

the extreme heat, we might have worked all day

and night at amusement. One day we took what

we called a rest-day, but so many things were

crowded into it as an empty day, which could not

so well be done on days when excursions were made,

that we worked very hard indeed at being idle.

Many such idle days as this would be the death of

us ; we hastened to crowd on the excursions as an

easier fate. The dinners and tiffins were an effort,

though we are accustomed to these ; but sometimes

we had a Malay breakfast, beginning with a capital

mayonnaise of fish and capers, and then a ponderous

Malay curry, twenty courses in one, of about twenty-

six dishes and ' sambals, ' which are grated, shredded,

chopped or powdered preparations of seven little

dishes in each sambal-tray, of which you are ex-

pected to select several or nearly all. There are

several sets of sambals. We enjoyed the curry,

and made merry over it, counting the different

dishes and flavourings we had heaped together on

our hot-water plates. The Sultan piled his plate

R

242 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

high as possible with all the twenty-six varieties—

•

and the sambals—enjoyed it, and came for more.

Other curries after this will be sorrow's crown of

sorrow, making us remember happier things.

A Malay curry comprises in itself a dinner, ay,

even a German dinner. As Count Smorltork would

say, ' A Malay curry surprises by himself,' &c.

This masterpiece is compounded by the Babu

—

the Sultan's chef—under the Sultan's own eyes.

Like a domesticated Frenchman, Sultan Abubekir

likes poking about doing his housekeeping, looking

after the 'perfectionating' of the sambals. Whenhe comes to England, or goes anywhere on a visit,

he can eat nothing that has not been prepared byhis own cooks ; of course, like all Moslems, he can

only eat meat slaughtered by a Mohammedanbutcher.

Then the whole paraphernalia of dishes was

handed round again to be eaten with the yellow

glutinous rice, which they made a point of our

tasting. This small-grained rice is a special sort.

Yellow being the royal colour, it is received as an

honour by the guests ; but it is really not so good

as the ordinary rice. Johore being so close to

Singapore is better off for supplies than the rest of

the Malay peninsula, where you get only buffalo

meat, fresh pork, and fowls.

After the curry, they handed round large dishes

of pommeloes, a green fruit here, not at all like what

we see in Covent Garden. It had a flavour like the

Bangkok perfumery.

I watched the servants rearranging the palm-trees,

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 243

as we call the groves of calamus Lewisianus (from

Penang) in the tall trumpet glasses. They brought

sheaves of boughs. What a wealth of beauty ! in-

conceivable by us who prize little pots of this fairy

palm about a foot high for our dinner-tables at home.

I enjoyed the sight of the picturesque figures of

Chinese gardeners carrying their yoked baskets,

Punjaubee sentries with fierce eyes that yet look

protectingly at us, as if they liked the English

rather than otherwise. Malay servants, too, in

various costumes were to be seen singly or in groups

moving across the pillared halls and corridors amongthe dark velvet-foliaged plants, bearing masses of

flowers for the table in fanciful baskets or on metal

trays, the creepers of the verandahs and the moredistant palms forming a background to the groups.

The dark-blue flag of Johore is to-day flying from

the yacht, along with the burgee and the pussy-cat

flag.

Aleck is gone off in the victoria to meet and

pick up Lady Clare and Mr. Swan who have walked

on. Mr. Swan is our sheet-anchor ; as he speaks

Malay we all try to secure him to go out shopping

or driving. Poor Aleck looks so utterly miserable,

he is helpless if the Dato Secretary does not tell the

driver exactly where to go. He might be left in

the jungle with the tigers. Dato is a title almost

synonymous with Pasha.

This afternoon, about four o'clock, the Sultan,

the Duke, Mr. Cobham, and I set off in the Sultan's

steam-launch up the Scudai river, really an arm of

the sea, to see the brick-and-tile works. I am re-

244 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

minded of Dartmoor by the distant hill-scenery

beyond the jungle which stretches for miles behind

the mangroves, whose timber, such as it is, is good

for fuel. Nearly the whole of the interior of Johore

is dense virgin forests. Dato Meldrum tells me the

magnitude and grandeur of these forests, viewed

from the summit of the blue mountain yonder,

called Gunong Pulai, about twelve miles from Johore

Baru, fills the mind with a feeling of something

akin to awe. There is a bed of stiff red clay here

being worked for bricks by Messrs. Fraser and

Fowke, who live here in a rough bachelor bungalow,

and employ many Klings, Chinese, Javanese, and

others. There is likewise a marl of very fine quality.

The Sultan, who is always on the look-out for what

will improve his property, pricked up his ears at

ray suggestion that it might possibly be fuller's-

earth.

The Chinese employed here are immensely

powerful men. The Chinese complexion varies

very much ; in some persons it is yellow, these

are chiefly the townspeople and those who live in-

doors ; in these men at the brick-works it is often

quite red, like the North-American Indians. TheJavanese are an industrious race, much more so

than the Malays, who will not work continuously

at anything, preferring to be idle altogether. Theydo not so much object to work as coachmen or

drivers of waggons and carts. Camoens talks of' Malays enamoured and valiant Javanese.' It is

difficult to keep the peace between the different

nationalities and races.

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 2i5

The proprietors have plenty of furnaces and

good machinery, including a steam-saw for their

fuel-timber. The sheds have attap roofs, as their

own tiles are too costly.

White ants are invading the bungalow, where the

Sultan and I took coco-nut milk, and Messrs. Fraser

and Fowke offered whisky-and-soda to the Dukeand Mr. Cobham. Their life here so near Singapore,

and the society very frequently gathered by this

hospitable Sultan, if rough, cannot be dull like that

of remote settlers in Manitoba or Australia. It is

delightful scenery, and they have a flourishing

business, and are made much of by their landlord

the Sultan, who is using many of the bricks and

tiles for the new palace he is building at Muar.

Among their chief troubles are the white ants, which

are, however, easily stopped in tbe beginning of their

ravages with arsenic, tar, &c. I never saw such a place

as Johore for ants of all sorts, and insects with wings

and stings. One gets used to seeing the ants running

over the white table-cloth ; they do not hurt, but they

tickle. They fly in at the windows in countless

numbers when the lamps are lighted ; but they are

not intolerable like the mosquitoes.

I looked about for alligators in the river, as I

had read in books on the Malay peninsula that

alligators are so thick that you cannot sit on a log

without its coming to life and turning to an

alligator. Another illusion dispelled. They said it

was the fault of the tide.

This evening the Sultan had a good manyadditional visitors, including several ladies, at

246 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

dinner. Aleck played the Sultan's own ivory pipes

decked with red tartan ribbons.

We tasted the durian-fruit disguised as a con-

serve ; it was eatable, but not very good ; it re-

minded us all too much of the powders taken in

jam of our youthful days, when all life was not

bliss, whatever the poets feign. The Sultan laughed,

thinking he had cheated us into liking durian. Wecould not exactly tell him it was horrid.

After dinner, we drove in the Sultan's gharries to

the famous gambling-house that Ave had heard so

much about, and which it is etiquette for every

guest of the Sultan to visit once at least. We were

taken first to see a Chinese theatre, which was not

much unlike the Chinese opera, only there was

shouting instead of screaming. The piece was tragic,

but very funny. The heroine committed suicide bycutting oiF her head with a sword ; she sprang to

life again two seconds afterwards and did it again

—

that is, it was encored. Several of the other char-

acters likewise committed suicide on the stage, butin different forms. It appeared to be entirely amatter of personal choice, for we could not detect

any circumstance that drove them to it.

Then the Sultan, according it seems to custom,handed us each ten dollars to gamble with. Thegame is excessively simple; the superintendentChinaman, or croupier, twirls a small brass teetotumcontaining a cube coloured half-red, half-white. Whenit stops he lifts the cover and you win or lose

according to where the colour you have backeddrops. The board is crossed and again crossed

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 247

diagonally

your stake

the colour

your stake

in lines of white and red. If

is on the central lines and

is what you have backed,

is tripled ; and if you win on

one of the diagonals you receive as much again as your

stake. Ifthe cube falls with thewrong colour upon the

lines you have backed you lose, as you do if it falls

on any of the other lines but those your stakes are

on. All winnings pay ten per cent, to the bank.

It seems perfectly fair play, and the people are

passionately fond of trying their luck or tempting

their fate. I was a winner in a small way, but I

should not care to go there often. First, the place

was hot and close—not at all a gambling palace, but a

small upper room, approached through several stuffy

rooms used indifferently for sleeping and gambling,

furnished by a small wooden table, round which weall crowded ; secondly, I see it is a horribly de-

moralizing thing. I am glad to have seen it once,

but it does not excite me in the way I have read of

gambling acting on most people. The Duke said it

did not stir him either ; but it is not easy to ima-

gine a rich duke being excited by gambling for

dollars and fractions. I was glad to come away,

and did not go again, having once subscribed to the

etiquette of Johore.

We usually took our first breakfast alone in our

rooms, but one morning Bertha came in to tell methat the Sultan wished the Duke and the ladies to

take coffee with him early in his own apartments.

I dressed in a hurry, and went through another

long suite of handsomely-furnished apartments

—

248 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

with no end of spare bed-rooms—to the Sultan's

pleasant morning-room. It is His Highness's cus-

tom to present all his visitors, the ladies with a

sarong, the gentlemen with a malacca cane. He

gave me both, a pretty green plaid silk sarong and

a grey clouded cane, a ratan, silver-mounted.

Dato Meldrum says the malacca cane is found

everywhere in the forest ; like other ratans, it climbs

trees, descends again, runs along the ground, and

perhaps ascends another tree. It is sometimes as

much as five hundred feet long. There are many

different kinds of ratans or canes, some no thicker

than a quill, others thicker than a good-sized walk-

ing-stick. It is a very useful plant—indeed, it is a

fail-me-never to the native.

The Sultan gave the Duke and Mr. Cobham each

a box of native Johore tea, and to the Duke a large

map of his territory. Sultan Abubeker is opening

up the country energetically. He has attracted a

multitude of Javanese, Chinese, and other settlers

here ; he has made Johore Baru a free port, with

only small dues, and gives a free grant of land to

settlers. He makes good roads, and villages spring

up beside them as if by magic. By these and other

enlightened measures the Sultan is yearly increas-

ing his influence and his income. Instead of being

crushed by the prosperity of Singapore, he is using

the Lion City as a market, or rather a central depot

for the distribution of his native productions. Theterritory of Johore, Muar, and their dependencies

consist of about ten thousand square miles, and are

bounded on the north by the native state of Pahang

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 249

and the British settlement of Malacca. The popu-

lation of this southern part of the territory, exclu-

sive of Muar, is about one hundred thousand Chinese

and fifty thousand Malays.

We all put on our sarongs for tiffin. Lady Clare

arranged one about her head in the way the womenof the country wear them : mine was knotted at

the side for me as the Malay women wear them,

when their flow is not unlike the lines of the Greek

drapery as worn by the Venus de Milo. The Duke

wore his carelessly arranged, but Mr. Cobham and

Mr. Swan were dressed by the secretary and others

in complete Malay gentleman's costume. This fancy

dress amused the native servants very much, and

also the Sultan when he came in an hour late,

having been to Singapore on business.

Several of the principal residents in Johore lunched

mth us ; the Sultan having asked Mrs. Bentley, the

agreeable wife of the Johore attorney-general,

who lives close by the Sultan's grounds, to do the

honours of the Istana. Prince Bernhard of Saxe-

Weimar, who is making the tour of the planet,

arrived this day on a visit to the Sultan.

We were invited to-day to a garden-party at

Mathna, the country-seat of the Unkoo AbdulMedjid, the Sultan's brother.*

We drove in three carriages to Mathna, a concise

word signifying half-way house between two palaces.

Many ladies and gentlemen were assembled to play

tennis, but the amusements were damped hj heavyrain, and tropical rain does indeed damp a garden-

* Unkoo means prince, Unkana princess. Dato, Pasha ; Da tine, the

feminine thereof.

260 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

party ; the long tables spread with tea-cakes, ices, &c.,

were completely drenched. While the rain continued,

we ladies visited theharem, furnished in semi-European

style, where the Unkana, a Turkish lady, dressed in

black satin, with a 'pouff' dowdily arranged in Euro-

peanfashion, received us dumbly,as she couldspeak no

Frankish language, but cordially ; she was assisted

by two other of the Unkoo's younger wives, one in

sky-blue satin, rather ill-made, and very ill-fitting,

looking like dresses one sees in a cleaner's shop-

Mindow. After we had mutually taken stock of each

other, and exhausted conversation by signs about

the weather, and made a baby squall with terror at

our caresses as we handed it from one to another,

we said good-bye to the ladies of the harem, and

the rain was over. We watched the tennis-players

led by Mrs. Bentley, the champion player of

Singapore, and soon tiring of that, we walked round

the grounds well-planted with strange trees, on soine

of which grow masses of elk-horn fern, and the in-

closure where various sorts of deer are kept, somefallow deer, and one of a native sort very wild and

fierce, and sawthe plantations and improvements. Wehad the system of growing Liberian cofi^ee, pepper,

and other crops for export explained to us practically.

They pay great attention to all this farming.

On leaving Mathna we drove home by a difi'erent

way, and saw more of the cultivation of tea, coffee,

cloves, gambir, pepper, &c., in its various stages

;

with all the lesser crops and kitchen-gardening for

home and Singapore consumption. Pepper whenstaked looks like hops twining round stout stumpy

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 251

poles. The young plant has many enemies, but it is

easily grown when once established. They are very

careful in sheltering some sorts of young plants by

some coarser-growing vegetables near them, which

shall shelter the tender crop from the sun by its

larger foliage.

They are opening up the country wellj the Sultan

is improving his territory vastly.

The Sultan offers fifty dollars for each tiger killed

and brought in.

The coffee-trees near Unkoo Medjid's house Avere

a great object of interest to the Sultan and others.

They appeared to be in a fair state considering the

late dry weather. The Sultan, as well as ourselves,

greatly hopes to make Johore and Singapore a

coffee-producing land, to take the place of the extinct

coffee plantations of Ceylon.

The land is undulating and fertile ; round Mathna

it looked not unlike a newly-planted pleasure-ground

in the North of England, with that tree which looks

at a distance so like Scotch fir scattered about the

hill-ranges. Specimens of three hundred and fifty

kinds of trees from here were sent by Dato Meldrum,

by command of the Sultan, to the Forestry Exhibition

at Edinburgh in 1885. Between Johore Baru and

Mathna there is a Roman Catholic church, besides a

chapel for the small Presbyterian community. Themosque and the Chinese joss-houses are in Johore

Baru.

It rained heavily as we went home, so we had the

attap or roof of the carriage closed. Attap is

the Malay word for roof of any sort, not only the

252 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

palm-leaf thatch that we call attap, attap of the

carriage ; the word sounds very like top or a-top.

To-night there was a large dinner-party at the

Istana ; the Sultan blazed with four stars, a very

grand aigrette in his cap, and diamond buttons to his

short best jacket.

We pulled crackers, and the Sultan's band played

during dinner, and Aleck played the pipes. The

Prince of Saxe-Weimar, who took me down to

dinner, had never heard them before; he said he did

not understand them. Of course no German can like

what he has not got to the bottom of: he suifered,

but we laughed consumedly at his half-hidden

tortures. The Sultan who was next me on the other

side thought it fine fun ; he knew all about the pipes

—he did, having been in Scotland, and having im-

ported a set of pipes of his own.

One lady of the party was a Japanese in European

dress ; she spoke English, but she was very quiet

and retiring.

Still the Sultan will not hear of the Duke leaving

Johore, as he says he wants to take us to Muar to

see his northern territory when he goes there him-

self shortly. We are not unwilling to stay, for it is

really too hot to go out or even to move. Most of

us forage in the library for books ; the library is

large, but the collection is not extensive. Wilkie

Collins is the favourite author, there are also volumes

o^ Punch and the Art Journal. Our greatest happi-

ness is to sit in thin white morning-wrappers in

our rooms pretending to read—but there are ladies

to be entertained at luncheon, so brace ourselves to

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 253

the work we must. There was also an excursion to

inspect the gaol and hospital (whither the hos-

pitable Sultan took the indefatigable Duke), from

which it will be rightly inferred that both were

creditable to his sovereignty ; and to see the Johore

saw-mills. Mr. Cobham meanwhile assisted at an

examination of the schools. The boys wrote well

from English dictation.

The Johore steam saw-mills, established in 1859-60,

have gradually increased their plant until they

may be pronounced the most extensive concern of

the kind in Asia. The Sultan gave facilities and

encouragement to a few private individuals to set

them a-going, and from their foundation up to the

present time large quantities of manufactured timber

have been shipped to China, India, Maui'itius, Java,

Ceylon, &c., besides supplying local demands. Themills lie at a jettj'^ where there is deep water, and

facilities for unloading with dispatch. Wood only

is burned in the machinery, the fuel being rinds,

slabs, and ends. The sawdust is not utilized in any

way.

Dato Meldrum, who came on most days to the

Istana, to help us to ideas, says Malay wood-cutters

are employed to go in the forests to bring the timber

in rafts to the mills. A company of six to ten is madeup ; they are generally friends and relations : a head-

man is selected, and he is generally held responsible

for the advances of money that are made to them.

A sum is paid down when the agreement is made

;

with this money they purchase a boat and lay in a

stock of provisions, tools, &c. In a month the head-

264 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

man makes his appearance and receives another ad-

vance, reporting progress ; this is repeated three,

four, or five times, according to the size of the raft

they mean to bring. Sometimes six months or more

elapse before the raft is brought to the mills, there

being many contingencies that interfere with regular

work : the habits and customs of the Malays, sick-

ness, rainy weather, and sometimes want of rain

sufficient to float the logs out of the small stream-

lets into which they have been rolled or dragged.

Wives and children accompany their husbands, and

frequently lend a hand in hauling or rolling the logs

out of the forest. They live in the jungle in huts

while the trees are being felled, and in huts on the

rafts when they are made up and in transit to the

mills. They are a quiet, orderly people now ; very

independent, yet kindly disposed. Their wants are

few, as they do not sufi'er the privations attendant

on the rigorous and changeable climate of morenorthern latitudes. Theirs is a constant snmmer,monotonous perhaps in its sameness, more or less

relaxing, nevertheless very pleasant and enjoyable

to them. They take nothing intoxicating, and are

very fond of liberty and a free and easy life.

By all this it will be seen that Johore under its

present Sultan affords a good field for enterprise to

natives as well as Europeans. In Siam civilization

is potential ; in Johore it is at work.

I was glad to hear, notwithstanding the necessary

supply of timber for the saw-mills, that the country

is. not being disforested, but that all is being done

under careful supervision. This is Dato Meldrum's

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 255

province, and he has to take care that the land is

not desolated as in Ceylon, where ' Government has

played fast and loose with its land and what stands

on it, and lived on capital instead of interest.' Nobotanist has ever spent much time in Johore, so

Dato Meldrum, who is inspector of forests rather than

a regular botanist, says an interesting jB.eld is open

to the first who goes there. He strongly recommends

the British and Johore Governments to plant the

invaluable tree, the gutta-percha, which is now get-

ting scarce and very costly, the tree being destroj^ed

in obtaining the gutta. Gutta-percha, or, as the

Malays call it, getah-taban, was first discovered, or

at least first brought into use from the Johore

forests. It was a fortunate thing that just whenthe telegraph was brought into use gutta-percha

appeared in the market. Nothing has been found

better adapted for covering deep-sea cables than

gutta-percha.

We had a Malay curry fifty dishes strong to-day,

with sambals in proportion ; the Prince of Saxe-

Weimar is as much afraid of it as he is of the bag-

pipes. A Malay curry is vast and potent, like the

German army. After luncheon we all assembled in

the portico and vestibule to watch a thunder-storm

and a heavy tropical downpour, while those whowere better used to such things sat down to play

cards in the large pillared hall. Rain was in itself a

novelty to us, for, until our return to Singapore, wehad not seen a drop of rain since lea-sdng England

early in December. Now it fell in sheets and

deluges, flooding the pavements, and shooting from

256 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

the roofs and streaming down the pathways, while

blue lightning flashed out of the dark cloud masses

over the Straits of Salat Tambran, and thunder

pealed loud enough to deafen even ears attuned to

the Chinese opera. For one comfort, it cooled the

air, and the weaker spirits went for an easy drive

afterwards. We energetic ones, the Sultan, Duke,

Prince, Commissioner, and author, went in the

Sultan's launch to the police-station of Pasai

Godown, or, as the Sultan himself calls it, Makao

Koodang, where we picnicked, as well as inspected

the station and the young coffee plantations.

Though river-police are still required to keep downpiracy; things have much improved in this southern

part of the Malay peninsula under the Sultan's rule.

As Miss Bird tells us, formerly no boat could go

up or down Malay rivers without paying black-mail

to one or two river rajahs ; but the Chinese settlers

as well as the pirates are powerful men, and help

the cause of law and order by taking their own part.

The Sultan inspects these police stations periodically.

The high jetty here is of split bamboo, making one of

the frail platforms on stilts which are here consider-

ed convenient piers, easier for monkeys to climb on

than for ladies to land by ; this is approached by a

most difficult ladder, inaccurately so called, man-

trap describes it better. It is a steep and slippery

£erial ladder of three round rungs, each about two

and a half feet apart, to which one must cling tight,

for a false step would precipitate one into the river

and deep mud.

The Sultan tells me olives grow wild here in the

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 267

jungle, but they are not cultivated. I suggested he

should grow them. He asked me if I thought seeds

would grow. I thought cuttings would do better

and quicker, the delicate French and the large

Spanish olives struck in pots and carried out

;

from these grafts might be taken to graft on to

the wild olive-trees. This seemed a bright idea

to him ; he said he should put it into execution.

He is always on the look-out for new ideas and

improvements, especially in the way of crops ; often

asking my really very unimportant opinion about

cultivation in general.

On returning, we find the green woods have turned

black, the green sea has turned white, and the blue

sea, chameleon-like, has turned tawny and grey,

gathering into deep dim purples. We reached the

Istana in time to keep the guests invited to dinner

waiting three-quarters-of-an-hour only. As it was a

small party, not more than twenty, the Sultan only

wore his second-best diamond aigrette ; the Dukewore only the order of the Thistle, but Prince Bern-

hard was profusely decorated.

We thought the Prince of Saxe-Weimar was go-

ing to have a fit, with suppressed ecstasy ; he bursts

and chokes so when Aleck begins to play the pipes.

He still did not understand it, as Ah Sin-like he

does not understand billiards either ; he has not yet

concentrated his great mind on these subjects. The

attendants as iisual look closely at Aleck's kilt

amusedly and amazedly, as if he had not arranged

his sarong properly. A fine handsome lad of fresh

colour, he looks like a being of another star from

258 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

these dusky, quiet, stealthy-footed Malays, as he

strides and marches round the table Scottish fashion.

On the 10th of March we were keeping the Prince

of Wales' silver-wedding, when the Sultan, who had

gone across to Tyersall, telephoned the news of the

death of the old Emperor of Germany ; the flags on

the yacht were placed half-mast high, and everyone,

Malays as well as Europeans, expressed respectful

sympathy with the Emperor Frederick's sad condition.

Boats have been ordered at half-past four to take

us to the yacht to give a tea-party to the Johore

ladies. It is sultry and it looks like a storm coming

on. There is the first peal of thunder. The tall

Punjaubee sentry shelters himself under the thick

palm-trees. Our tea-party came off after all, for the

rain ceased just at the time they, told us it would do

so. Rain is so regular in its habits here that they

can always calculate upon its movements.

Lightning was playing all round the ship, and fine

effects of cloud were seen over the straits, the

nearer forests, and the distant hills. The views,

whenwe landed for a walk, were glorious up on the hill

behind the Istana, which the Sultan has had laid out

in walks, and planted as a fine public garden, with

gardenias blossoming in the shrubberies, and all

manner of delightful tropical trees and flowers.

Below this hill, near the Istana, a large town-hall is

being built and nearly finished, as well as a justice-

room and public offices, with broad steps leading to

the water-side.

On Sunday, March 11th, we had a large full-dress

state dinner to celebrate our last evening at Johore.

THE SULTAN OF JOHORE. 269

Several notabilities from Singapore were invited to

meet the Duke. The guests' attire was various : the

European gentlemen mostly wore uniform or lev^e

dress ; there were many fezzes with diamond aigrettes

worn by Malay princes. The Sultan was glittering

with stars and diamond and ruby buttons down his

monkey jacket, and gay with ribbons, among them

the yellow ribbon of the Crown of Johore. There

were a good many ladies present on this occasion.

We had the whole of the gold Ellenborough ban-

quet service for this one last evening, all dressed

with purple sprays of the bougainvillea. Eleven

large centre-pieces including three great candelabra,

and wine-coolers used as flower-vases ; twenty lesser

raised pieces holding fairy lamps (above one's eyes)

;

and twenty salt-cellars and the same number of

pepper-boxes, these smaller things being of really

artistic form and workmanship. The coup doeil was

dazzling on entering the long dining-room, with the

mass of crimson-purple and gold, all regal and state-'

ly. The room was lighted besides by lamps in

sconces round the walls, and the archway openings

all round filled with soft greenery of ferns gave the

necessary contrast of repose and shade.

Speeches were made at this farewell dinner. His

Highness the Sultan proposed theDuke of Sutherland's

health in a fcAV appropriate words in Malay, elegantly

translated by the accomplished Dato Secretary, and

his Grace, in replying, said he was not likely soon to

forget the royal hospitality of Johore ; that whenhe arrived he did not feel like a stranger, as he had

not only the honour of His Highness's acquaintance

s 2

260 THE SULTAN OF JOHORE.

before, but he had heard so much about him from

the Prince of Wales that it was like visiting an old

friend.

This also the secretary fluently translated into

Malay, and it was received with cheers of approval

from the Malay princes assembled.

The Sultan has asked us to accompany him in his

yacht, the Pantie, in a journey to Muar, the northern

province of his territory. This place is about ten

leagues south of Malacca. At its embouchure the

river is six hundred yards wide, and, eighteen miles

up, it diminishes to one-sixth of this breadth. Wecannot go up in the Sans Peur, as the coast is

shallow, and a sand-bar obstructs the river's mouth,

on which there is no more than three-quarters of

a fathom of water. The Pantie, which draws eight

feet of water, is able to get about easily, where w^e,

drawing fourteen feet, should stick hopelessly. In

the Pantie we shall cross the bar easily at flood-tide.

Hey for the land of peacocks, gold, and ivory !

261

CHAPTER XI.

MUAR.

And once more I said ye stars, ye waters,

On my heart your mighty charm renew;

Still, still let me, as 1 gaze upon you,

Feel my soul becoming vast like you.

But with joy the stars perform their shining,

And the sea its long moon-silvered roU

;

For alone they live, nor pine with noting

All the fever of some differing soul.

Matthew Arnold.

The place we are going to is called Bundac Mahar-

anee. All our luggage was carried down to tlie

Sans Peur, which was sent oif before us, at nine

a.m., so as to save the tide in the straits, as she

draws too much water for the shallow western

passage, except at flood-tide. How pretty the white

ship looks as she glides away, leaving a great blank

behind the palm-trees where she stood. The Sultan's

smaller yacht takes her place before the palace,

waiting to take us on to Muar.

The Sultan gave us each a large photograph of

himself, and Dato Meldrum sent me a collection of

orchids and nepenthes, for which Johore is famous,

262 MUAR.

to carry home to England. The Sultan's son, a tall

youth who is shortly going to finish his education

in England, was presented to the Duke ; we had not

seen him before.

' Stop for this investiture,' cries Mr. Cobham, as T

was hurrying to put away my sketching-tackle, &c.

;

and we all assembled in the middle hall.

A gold tray was brought forward by some attend-

ants in rich costume. On it was a box containing

the collar, star, ribbon, and jewel of the order of

the Crown of Johore, of which honour the Duke

of Sutherland is the first European recipient. The

Sultan made a speech (in Malay) on presenting this

to the Duke, who is now an Unkoo as well as a Duke.

We bade farewell all round to the large party,

including most of the datos, who accompanied us

to the Sultan's yacht. The European residents

cheered us in British style from the pier, three

times three, and we waved handkerchiefs while

standing on the hurricane-deck of the Pantie^ a word

meaning the high hill beyond the sand-bank at

the mouth of the Johore river. Unkoo Slayman,

a brother of the Sultan, and the Prince of Saxe-

Weimar accompanied us to Muar.

We steamed out by the western channel of the

Straits of Salat Tambran, opposite the passage wecame in by in coming to Johore, passing the distant

view of the fine blue hill-range beyond the creeks

of the Scudai river, and between the mangrove-

fringed islets and undulating river-banks. This

Malayan Bosphorus is the place alluded to by

Camoens in the Lusiad :

MUAR. 263

' But on tlie point of lanl see Sincapoor,

Where narrow strait admits of ships but few.'

Now we have been all round the island of Singa-

pore, as well as across and about it.

At four p.m. a second luncheon was spread on

deck, with several strange dishes, and a great mouldof stiff sea-weed jelly, a national dish, which is

something like Turkish delight. We then put out

to sea, and overtook the Sans Pew\ which had been

ordered to go ' dead slow,' and mutually dipped our

colours. Aleck comforted Prince Bernhard by a

tune on the pipes ; and, as the Sultan's box of

games had been brought on board. Lady Clare

taught him beggar-my-neighbour, while Mr. Swantaught poker to one of the datos ; the Duke and

I sharing, by turns, the only book on board, ' Sarong

and Kris.' The rest of the datos were interested in

the 'skitch' I was making of the fine-peaked outline

of the Island of Carimon.

At six o'clock the table was laid for dinner—the

Sultan was determined to fatten us—but the windhad risen and there were heavy clouds ahead ; a

thunderstorm soon followed with cold wind. Wenow saw the great superiority of the Sans Peur as

a sea-going vessel to this pretty little fair-weather

craft. The hurricane-deck that we had envied in

the smooth sunny waters of the straits was nowswamped •with rain, notwithstanding the thick awn-ing and side curtains, and we wondered how they

were going to light the table. They hung ship-

lanterns all round, and, the rain having ceased, they

spread gratings for our feet, and the Sultan's good

264 MUAR.

curry and champagne soon warmed us to cheer-

fulness. A stub-tailed Malay cat, like a Manx cat,

was a favourite on board. The Siamese cats are

also tailless.

After this we signalled the Sans Peur by a blue

light, and the Duke, Mr. Cobham, and I went on

board with some difficulty in the dark on account of

the boat bobbing up and down so mucb. Lady

Clare and Bertha remained on board the Pantie.

Next morning we had arrived off a flat coast with

low islets to the west, and larger, loftier isles on the

eastern side, a lofty blue peak peeping out above

the clouds which lay heavy on the low palm-fringed

coast. This is Mount Ophir 'with its golden

history.' Many hills here are named Mount Ophir.

The gold-mines are called 'ophirs ' by the Malays.

The Sultan's yacht lay alongside of us.

We breakfasted at seven o'clock, and went on

board the Pantie, where two fine tall young men,

one in gold, the other in silver-laced uniform, were

presented by the Sultan as his nephews. They

spoke English, one of them had been educated in

England. Both these handsome young men are

clever ; one has surveyed the territory and made the

large map of Johore that the Sultan gave to the

Duke, the other is a skilful engineer. All this

family are highly intelligent. The Sultan kept his

nephews waiting at a distance in their launch till

the Duke came on board the Pantie, when he called

them alongside and on board and introduced them.

Mr. Swan, who understands Malay, told us he said

to them quite sharply,

MUAR. 265

' Now mind you talk to these English people ; if

you can't talk sense talk nonsense, only talk plenty.'

Does the Sultan think one sort of talk is as good

as another for English ladies ? However, they

talked very good sense indeed.

We anchored in the Muar river, opposite a large

bungalow occupied by the Sultan's nephews; and a

gay townlet turned out all its gaily-dressed inhabi-

tants to welcome the Sultan and his guests. The

whole settlement was waiting at the pier to receive

us, the Malays wearing divers tartan garments,

besides the national sarong, of Rob Roy and other

tartans. The blue-gowned Chinese filed off after

seeing the great sight, the idler Malays hovered

about to see us get into the gharries and other car-

riages which were waiting to take us to see the

country, and the new palace that the Sultan is

building, in order that he may reside at Muaroccasionally and foster his promising young colony.

The town of Bundac Maharanee is not five years old,

but it is already very thriving. Life moves very

quickly out here when the English and Chinese have

once come to see the natural advantages of a place,

and the rapid growth of Nature answers to their

efforts. In incredibly few years, when roads are once

made, the jungle gives up its wealth to the clearer,

and a numerous population follows the navigator

and cultivator. Houses are built, estates are planted,

and money flows in.

Sultan Abubeker encourages the industrious

Chinese ; he says he finds them valuable as original

settlers, as they are indefatigable labourers, clearing

266 MffAR.

the jungle, cultivating the ground, and turning

everything to account : then, as he sees openings,

—and he is always looking for them,—he can set up

companies for working mills, mines, &c., with

Chinese labour under European direction. His

feeling towards railways is the direct converse of

that of the Siamese. He does all he can to attract

railway companies, feeling that population will

follow the railway. He has already made roads,

drained on one side by narrow canals navigable for

the light native boats : these roads were now heavy

after the rain, our piebald ponies felt them to be so.

Filling the light gharries, we felt like costermongers

over-crowding their carts on a Sunday, and we got out

to walk as soon as our hosts would allow us to do so.

The blue Mount Ophir looks -fine beyond the

palm forest in which the new Istana is being built.

This palace, a large building situated in the very

heart of the forest, is expected to be ready in about

ten months from the date of our visit. It is to be

furnished from London. The large supply of attap

or nipah palm grown here is in readiness for roofing

and building the new villages which are expected

to gather round the new palace, so soon as the

Sultan takes up his abode here. The nipah-palm

grows nothing but the attap for roofing and walls,

Avhich is valuable ; the fruit is insignificant.

On the road back to the bungalow, we were

struck with the comfortable and prosperous appear-

ance of the settlement and the good cultivation of

the ground : the town is chiefly Chinese, the Malays

keeping to the country and suburbs.

MUAR. 267

Liinclieon was laid for us in the large airy verandah

on the first-floor which is used as a dining-room,

though not often for such a large party, I suspect,

from the number of birds' nests in the rafters of the

verandah on the ground-floor below.

This noontide repast was completely a Malay

meal, picturesque and plentiful. A whole kid,

skilfully roasted so as to retain its juices, and

stuffed with rice and raisins, reminded us of the

description of the Emir's repast in ' Tancred ;' this

was carved by Mr. Cobham, who, from his residence

in Cyprus, was well used to large dishes of this

kind. There were vast preparations of Malay curry

with countless dishes of sambals, and in the centre

of the table a huge dish of royal yellow rice, set

with eggs, dyed deep purple, stuck on with tinsel

flowers and long ornamental pins ; a sort of Christ-

mas-tree stood on the top of the high-piled dish, with

crimson woollen balls for flowers and crimson cloth

stars and green tinsel leaves ; it was altogether a

glorified and majestic curry.

The table was decorated with the brilliantly

variegated crotons which admirably do duty for

flowers here. One gorgeous croton, with richly-

coloured, pendulous leaves nearly a foot long, was

very handsome as a central ornament.

A dish of pine-apple, minced with fish, tur-

meric, saffron and chillies, was excellent. Then

came the course de resistance^ the dui'ian, which the

Sultan made such a point of our enjo3'ing.

' We have, what you call, we have durian.'

268 MUAR.

' Oh, thank you ;' aside, ' I'll give you my share,

Prince.'

Soup-plates extra large and deep were brought

for the durian, prepared in a thick, porridge-like

way. We do not think we can manage it. This is

only our second breakfast, and we hear there is to be

a third at four o'clock

!

Durian is an acquired taste, and, to say the least

of it, it is a little garaey. Its flavour reminded the

gentlemen too forcibly of the Wat Sakhet at Bang-

kok. Then came a course of fifteen difi^erent kinds

of puddings, or large flat cakes about an inch and a

half thick, made of coco-nut, ground rice, and pith

of various edible palms, &c. Some of these were

very good, though most of them were too sweet, and

tasting strongly, one would say, of bacon-fat, were

these people not Mohammedans. Our hospitable

entertainers were afflicted because we could only

eat half an inch or so of the puddings we tried

;

but it was like eating bride-cake, one cannot get

through pounds of this at a sitting. We felt like

young employes at a confectioner's with the run of

the shop on the first day. This feeling was quite a

new experience to the Duke, and perhaps to all of us.

A tiger was to be exhibited.

' Come and see him,' said the Sultan.

We put a few questions first.

'A baby tiger?'

' No, not baby tiger ; what you call great-grand-

father tiger.'

Oh, we thought we would just peep and see

what sort of collar he had on. We saw several

MUAR. 269

men taking off their state sarongs to get him put

into a boat for us to look at. The Sultan offered him

to the Duke as a present.

' He's for you,' said the Sultan to the Duke. It

was good to see the Duke's face of dismay.

' But I can't feed him ; he wants half a manevery day

!'

His Grace remembered that his men would not be

likely to oblige, and at that rate even the stout

Herries would only last him for three days. "We

reflected that at the rate of a man every other day

it would soon be our turn, leaving to the last

those more necessary for the navigation of the ship

—and the tiger.

We all exclaimed ' No !' at the idea of his coming

on board the Sans Peur, and we kept the broad

space of green turf before the bungalow Avell be-

tween us and the tiger. Though the tall posts sup-

porting the verandah roof are set on hewn granite

bases, the trellis-work of the balconies would be

but a frail defence against the onset of a great-

grandfather tiger.

There is a fine, broad river here, broader than

the Thames at Richmond. They say it goes on

over a hundred miles farther, and is as broad nearly

all the way. The winding of this river, according

to the Prince's map, is remarkable, so it does not go

so very deep into the country after all. It takes its

rise in Mount Ophir, as does the Johore river on the

east of the territory, on which the town of Johore

itself is situated (not Johore Baru but the chief town).

The national Malay boat has a curved prow, a sort of

270 MUAR.

crook. Its shape, which is very graceful, is exactlj''

that of an old Chelsea china butter-boat.

The heat—and the heavy luncheon—bring a

drowsiness over some of the party, who dream

they are in England again as they are lulled by

the frequent sound of bells, like church bells.

Billiard-balls are clicking below, and the German

prince, after his nap, takes a pack of ecartd cards

from his pocket and practises combinations by

himself.

Bundac itself, as seen from the verandah, is more

like an English village than an Oriental town ; with

the donkey grazing on the green, enclosed with

posts and chains. The attap roofs look like thatch,

the carpenters' work of joists and beams yonder

Avhere they are red-tiling a roof is very English-

like; the tiles are semi-circular. The areca and

coco-nut palms in the background alone show it is

not European, for the majority of the costumes seen

near the princes' bungalow show a European ten-

dency. Three sheep and one pig are grazing on

the common, and a horse and a draught cow (of the

humped breed) are lying under the clump of bam-boos in the centre of the green. Nearer me is a

girl at play, wearing a white jacket, red cap, and a

long sarong. I thought she was dancing by the

way she waved her arms ; she is flying her kite.

We walked up the Chinese street and did a little

shopping. I happened to admire a tall brown vase

Avith numerous handles, when the Sultan's nephewturned to some of his men and ordered it to be

lifted for me into the boat which was carrying our

MUAR. 271

provisions to the Sans Peur. We were taken to the

much-ornamented house of the Capitan China,

where we found a refection of tea with fruits and

pastry spread on a table before a sideboard, or kind

of domestic altar, covered with crimson silk beauti-

fully embroidered. We had thimblefulls of ex-

quisitely fragrant tea in doll's tea-cups, and cakes

and a dark-green orange each to carry away.

The Capitan China is the head-man of a Chinese

colony, chief magistrate, and responsible for the

behaviour of his countrymen. The Sultan of Johore

and Muar is very fond of the Chinese. Their prin-

ciples are such as make Orientals love them muchbetter than we are able to do ; as Quang Chaw, a

learned mandarin, says :' Man must be patient, and

likewise exceedingly respectful. All good laws teach

this ; and all dutiful Chinese reverence the laws,

because they are the finest fruits and flowers which

the heavenly sun extracts from the roots of wisdom.'

.Dreading the four o'clock repast, which we gath-

ered from report was to be stupendous, we made the

threatening appearance of the weather an excuse

for making an earlier start, as we had to get out to

the Sans Peur, which was a long way off.

We embarked in a large steam-launch to go out

to the Pantie, which was anchored at some distance

off up-stream. On board the Pantie we saw the

tiger in his cage, bat declined having the creature

exhibited more fully. The Straits Times of March20th says :

' A very fine tiger was brought from

Muar by the Sultan, and is now exhibited in Johore

Baru ; it is one of the largest ever seen in these parts.'

272 MUAV.

And this was to have been our fellow-passenger ! The

Sans Peur must have changed its name had that tiger

come on board. A thunderstorm came on while we

were on board the Pantie with the tiger, which delayed

our departure somewhat. The hospitable Sultan insist-

ed upon our having champagne, and himself led the

cheering overa glass ofwater ; we replied by three times

th ree, and one hearty British cheer more for the S ultan.

Again on board the launch to go out to the Sans

Peur^ which stood at four miles out to sea beyond

the shallow sand-banks and the bar. The Germanprince was left behind lamenting, but the Sultan,

with the princes and datos and Mr. Swan, accom-

panied us to the last, and we steamed out past the

quaint fishing villages of matting and attap huts

reared on unusually lofty piles in the water-covered

mud-banks. The houses look more like bird-cages

than human habitations ; some of them at a distance

give one the idea of magnified lobster-pots set on

poles. From the tops of the houses are set tall fishing-

rods with lines attached, very long and strong to catch

the larger fish. These peculiar villages just nowonly supply Muar with fish, but the Sultan tells us

they could supply half London. The quality of the

tropical fish is vastly inferior to ours.

The idea of these stilted houses of the Malays is

perhaps borrowed from the mangrove, the screw-

pine, and many Malayan stilted plants, stilted in

their natural effort to keep themselves from rotting.

Nearly all the best palms are Malayan, and manyeven of these are stilted when grown by river banks,

partly because the soil washes away from beneath

MUAR. 273

them. This curious spectacle of watery dwellings

will not readily be forgotten, though Muar is fading

away into the past, the dim past, as Johore and

Siam have already got behind our lives.

It rained heavily just as we reached the Sans Peur,

which made it difficult to ship our provisions, in-

cluding ice, palm-sugar wrapped in palm-leaves,

coco-nuts, and other fruits, most of which we knewpretty well by this time, and seven durians, which

the Sultan gave us in order that we might acquire

the taste for them. These solid, heavy, prickly

fruits are highly valued. They give the name to

these Straits of Durian, the only place where this

fruit grows naturally—which is as well—though it

is much relished by the natives and those who have

learnt to like it.

Besides these things, the Sultan supplied us with

boxes of Johore tea, plenty of live poultry, and a

goat and other provisions. He seemed to think he

could never do enough to show his love for the

Duke, and, for that matter, for all the rest of us.

The Sultan, I think, hoped we should take kindly

to the sugar-candy, as he caUed the palm-sugar,

and bring it into notice in England, so that it maybecome an article of commerce. Perhaps it is the

manner of its preparation that makes it less palat-

able than French, sweetmeats, and this may be im-

proved. I brought some home, and I have heard

school-boys pronounce it as being like concentrated

ginger-bread.

Farewell to the Sultan, princes and datos, and

to Mr. Swan, who is going to remain behind con-

T

274 MUAR.

strucHng Malayan railways. We shall miss him

much. Friends may come and friends may go, but

we go on for ever, we feel, as the Sans Peur weighs

her anchor, and ' we go on our way, and we see

them no more.'

The last we have heard of Mr. Swan was by letter,

wherein he mentions his cook having been eaten

by a tiger. He waited some time for dinner—in

Malayan jungles—and supposed the cook was drunk

or had run away. Lo, the poor fellow had been

himself prepared for a tiger's dinner.

A thunderstorm hides the steam-launch from our

view ; but Mount Ophir shines out blue and bril-

liant, its crest standing out clear-cut among the

clouds. The thunderstorms have always crossed

us from east to west. We are nearly opposite

Malacca. Now for the long sea-passages to wearyus, and bring out the natural man in our disposi-

tions and tempers. This should be poetical andinteresting. Is it often so, or ever so ?

Let us chase away dull care, and go and makefriends with the happy family on board—rabbits,

ducks, fowls, kid, monkeys, mongoose, &c. Whata mercy the tiger is not on board too ! How pretty

it is to see the mother and baby monkey clasping

each other so lovingly— a long-tailed variety this,

with tails not prehensile, like our poor dead Jacko's.

The black minah bird with the yellow beak, whotries to talk English; the two prettily-coloured

parakeets, and the Java sparrows are still well.

The zebra-parakeet, Avith the small beak which did

not break the rounded outline of his head, flew

MUAR. 275

away. He bit his way out of the slight bamboo

cage, and was washed off the rigging by the rain.

Johore is called one of the protected states.

' Well,' says the Duke, ' we've been protecting it

for tbe last ten days.'

The way our Queen is supposed to have given,

as it is said, the title of sultan to the Maharajah

of Johore is this : that, as she had no objection to

styling him sultan if he wished it,—in fact, she

recognised him as such. She has no power to confer

such a title, but her recognition indeed gives it.

The ceremony of the coronation, with a regal

diadem, took place in the ball-room of the palace

at Johore Baru. No ladies were allowed to be

present in the room ; but the European ladies of

Johore and Singapore looked down on the scene

from the latticed-gratings above the pictures.

We live the contemplative life at sea. Though"we are glad of the rest, it is dull enough during the

heavy showers, after the gaieties of eastern courts;

the only objects of out-look being two small pud-

ding-shaped islets, of the same apparent size and

form, on the port and starboard sides. They ap-

pear to be useful as points for steering, or to

determine our position.

We expect to reach Colombo in six days from

now. It felt homely on board the yacht, as wesettled down to our books and works. I distin-

guished myself by an immortal work—but I will

relate the circumstance. We were at breakfast, and

the others could not get away ; the smooth sea

gave them no reasonable excuse for moving.

T 2

276 MUAR.

' I will recite you part of a poem I composed this

morning myself,' said I. (A thrill—of delight, I

was sure—passed through the audience, but I dis-

claimed it modestly.) ' Don't shudder ; it is but a

fragment.'

They looked attentive. A less accurate observer

would have said resigned. I began

—

' Through Siam and Malaysia though we may trot,

Wherever we wander there's no place like the yacht.'

It had a delirious success. They applauded

loudly, quite stopping my voice. There may have

been finer poems, though they all thought so highly

of this, even the Duke (who is an admitted judge,

in virtue of his alleged descent from the respectable

Gower) ; but seldom has a contemporary work so

immediate a success. They thought it perfect in

itself, needing no addition. As a great French

critic says, ' Un sonnet vaut mieux qu'un poeme.'

I could see to read the small print of Crawford's* Dictionary of the Eastern Archipelago ' till twenty

minutes past six, and to sketch the grand outline

of the Golden Mountain of Sumatra, sometimes

(wrongly) called Mount Ophir. This fine mountain,

nine thousand two hundred feet in height, is a muchgrander object than the Mount Ophir of the Malaypeninsula, which is only four thousand three hun-

dred and twenty feet.

It was pleasant in the later evening to sit on the

bridge watching the phosphorescence and the stars,

the Pole Star, the Great Bear, Orion, and the

Southern Cross, all visible at once. As we leave the

shelter of Sumatra, we have at night the usual

MUAR. 277

struggle with the port-holes, some rolling besides in

the night, and our stout bos'un's fairy footfall up on

deck, laying his strength to the ' strings ' tuning

them up to the breeze. Up on deck to find a blue sea

and fair wind ; an outward-bound steamer going to

the pretty places we have left, and flying-fish taking

long flights, are the only glimpses of life in the whole

circle of thirty miles round beyond the bulwarks.

A flying-fish was caught as it fell on the top of the

deck-house, sixteen feet or more above the sea. Oneflying-fish, trying to fly right over the ship, was

caught in the sails and knocked down. A shark

was pursuing a shoal of these fish. The oceanic

flying-fish differs from the Mediterranean variety

in being more slender and more silvery in colour,

and from the ventral fins being seated near the

pectoral ones, besides being much smaller and of a

slightly lunated form.

As we have all the sails set, we are not able to have

the large awnings spread, and, though it is a glacier

blue sea, there is no glacier coolness. At last our

provisions fail us a good deal. The goat is not tempt-

ing ; the champagne and cider are popping, and being

wasted. Of ice we have none left ; what the Sultan

gave us did not last long. The bananas are nearly

finished, and the tinned soups, &c., are spoiled with the

hot weather. We look to Colombo as a place where

we shall get everything, from sapphires to soda-water.

The Duke is fond of music ; so, besides the second

cook's banjo and Dark Charlie's wheezy cornopean,

a dismal jemmy of an accordion is much affected byone of the men. We almost feel this a judgment

278 MUAR.

upon us for having teased Prince Bernhard of Saxe-

Weimar so mercilessly with the bagpipes.

Since leaving Egypt, where the sunsets are really

fine, the average sunset has been the tamest of

spectacles. As the much-talked-of big stars are a

fraud, and the glorious sunsets a delusion, so was

the vaunted 'kief that we have always heard of as

enwrapping the orientals in its 'broidery of bliss,

and which we expected likewise to enjoy when

there should be nothing else to do. Perhaps in

these last days of sailing from Sumatra to Ceylon

were the only hours when we felt anything approach-

ing the condition of Nirvana, or of ' kief,' as it is

described in the romance of eastern travel.

Eastern life, as I saw it—or as it seemed to me

—

was a state not of ' kief,' but of perpetual gadding

about, the in-between hours redeemed by riding in

the early morning and lawn-tennis in the afternoon.

We had been reading of Nirvana—in Edwin Arnold's

poems—and found high jinks.

Sixth or seventh illusion dispelled.

In this book, though I have been moderate in mydescriptions, I have shown, what is rarely seen, in

how much comfort it is possible sometimes to leave

the beaten tracks of travel. We had read the

' Golden Chersonese ' by Miss Bird, and heard of the

' Chersonese with the Gilding off,' by a resident in

Singapore, a book regarded here as truthful ; but wefound we must lay more gilding on, and deck our

tale with jewels. I do not mean the Sultan's rubies,

but the potentialities of these countries, with their

immense seaboard ; and the vegetable and mineral

MUAR. 279

productions of the teeming soil. Ruskin reminds us

that all wealth comes from the earth, and here the

earth's riches are greater than in most places, partly

so on account of the moist climate ; and we are not

yet educated up to the use of these wonderful pro-

ductions of Nature, which, without the aid of the

Chinese and Javanese, we cannot get at, for the

Malays will not work, and we in this climate cannot

dig, but only direct the digging.

Wealth indeed ! Think of all these trees andplants which it is an education in itself to knowand know the use of. Few can realise the marvels

of the forest universe—from the tapioca at our

feet that makes our puddings to the soaring talipot

which feeds our minds with the literature of the

East.

What I have gathered from my short visit to the

East is a deep respect for China as a nation ; the

mother of many future industrious, prosperous

colonies. Singapore shows what can be done by the

friendly fusion, or rather combined action, of the

leading races of Europe with the Chinese, and Muarbids fair to follow on the same traditions.

280

CHAPTER XII.

CEYLON.

And mark me, that untravelled manWho never saw Mazinderan,

And all the charms its bowers possess,

Has never tasted happiness.

FlEDAUSI.

Land, ho ! Tumble up, my hearties !

The morning of Monday, the 19th of March,

showed us the Beautiful Island on our starboard

bow. The blue hills of Ceylon as azure as the sea

itself.

' Herries, there's a boat with some fish,' cries the

Duke.

Delightful excitement. We have lived on tinned

fish for a long time ; no eggs left, no fruit, no meat

;

Ave are reduced to tins, with rice and potatoes. It

has become a duty to drink the cider and champagneto keep them from popping. We stop to negotiate

with three men who sit pinching their thin mahog-

any legs in the trough of a hollow tree, which forms

the keel of their catamaran, so as to make a little

room for their catch of fish of curious colours, azure

blue, canary colour, and the brightest of scarlet

;

CEYLON. 281

no boiled lobster ever equalled the intense and fiery-

scarlet of one sort of these fish. We all exclaimed

at its vivid colour. The dark men seated them-

selves somewhat more comfortably when we had

bought their fish, and the man perched on the out-

rigger for lack of space, came inside the catamaran.

We passed Point de Galle at two p.m., and

Colombo light was sighted at dusk.

Since the harbour has been improved at Colombo,

Point de Galle has lost all its importance with the

loss of the mail steamers. Trincomalee is the naval

station.

We anchored at Colombo at 9.45 p.m.

One of the Messageries steamers lying near us

looks big and busy as a well-lighted town ; the sing-

song of the coolies concluding her lading is con-

tinued till very late. These coolies, as at Aden andin the Indian ports, are always singing the same

monotonous tune with a turn in it.

This time—or maybe it is at this time of night

we notice tt—we do indeed smell the fragrance of

Ceylon ; spicy, heavy, and oppressive like the odours

of Bangkok. Herries counsels us to close our ports

because of malaria ; it is a question whether wewill be poisoned or stifled ? Like Fair Rosamond, I

choose the sweetened poison.

A cargo of mails being brought on board in the

morning, we fall to and greedily devour our letters and

newspapers ; then, animal hunger coming on, we go

ashore to the Grand Oriental Hotel to feed on fresh

provisions. Every order or message is written on

chits, or slips of paper ; which chits indeed answer the

282 CEYLON.

purpose of speech in Ceylon and Singapore, as the

attendants do not for the most part understand

English. Deaf and dumb people might make them-

selves very comfortable in these parts with chits.

We watched in the entrance an Indian juggler's

performance, including the surprising and elegant

sleight-of-hand shown in promoting the growth of

a mango-tree from a seedling to a stout green

sapling covered with fresh leaves.

Then we went to see the ' celebrated great cat's-

eye,' and other gems of a native jeweller ; sapphires,

cats'-eyes, and the Alexandrite, which shows green

by day and red by night, form the principal stock.

Moonstones are hardly looked upon here in the

light of jewels.

The appearance of the Cingalese men, with their

long shiny black hair twisted in a knot behind and

kept smooth by a round tortoiseshell comb, strikes

us as just as strange after Malaya as after Europe,

and just as puzzling. Is a being with shiny ring-

lets and earrings, in a petticoat, fat and feminine-

looking, but with a moustache, otherwise than of

doubtful gender? It is a Cingalese. This is a

word that you may spell any way you please,

Cingalese, Singhalese, Sinhalese, &c., putting an

accent here and there to make it look better—^more

learned.

We went off to the Sans Peur in the full glow of

sunset, the masts and yards of the multitudinous

shipping traced in intense black on the blazing

sheet of the sky.

Now we behold Ceylon, the cinnamon isle. We

CEYLON. 283

all meant to go our several ways, to meet at a

week's end on board the yacht. I had an invitation,

from my own family friend Dr. Trimen, to stay at

his bungalow in the famous Peradeniya Gardens, of

which he is director. Gardens are a passion with

me— the others cared for different things.

I was called at six o'clock; boat at 6.55 to catch

the morning train. Herries got me a carriage and

accompanied me to the station, and took my ticket,

as he knew the tongue.

The fine artificial lake that somewhat cools

Colombo is alive with geese and boats, and fringed

with people of every hue, clothed with every colour,

or altogether unclothed ; washing, standing, dip-

ping, boating ; boats and geese all making for a

coco-nut isle in the centre. On the other side of

the road, opposite this lake, is a swamp with lotuses,

where Herries has seen lots of cobras in his time.

The natives love travelling by train, taking their

holidays in that way. The Kandyan Railway pays as

well as any in the world. It has absolutely paid its

expenses and is quite clear. Its whole cost, amount-

ing to two-and-a-half millions sterhng, was paid by

the colony within twenty-five years, and it is nowthe free property of the Ceylon government. This

line, with the sea-side and Ndwalapitiya branches,

covers one hundred and twenty miles.

Oh, what sights to eyes which have seen nothing

but sea and sky for days 1 I revel in gay colours,

palms and plantains so vividly green, with the

young central leaf like a sulphur-yellow flame.

What vegetation ! crimson hibiscus and the ' flame

284 CEYLON.

of the forest,' allatnanda and lantana ; swamps

covered with lilies, and white domes rising above

the bowers of coco-palm, and cinnamon, 'the

wealth, the fame, and beauty of Ceylon ;' ponds,

rivers, and flooded rice-fields. My unaccustomed

eye cannot see a quarter of it. A steep incline and

a bridge over a river with logs floating down, the

banks crowded by picturesque figures in turbans

and long checked-cotton skirts ; the land, absolutely

laughing with cultivation, is tufted with areca clumps

and groves of coco. The country is all one emerald.

Truly the island is, as the Siamese call it, Lanka,

' the resplendent.'

Adam's Peak, blue in the distance, is the loftiest of

a chain of peaks. Now the nearer forest-grown

hills gather round and shut it from the view, bring-

ing the bright blossoms of the temple-tree and vinca

to light up the dense shade of forest-trees, hungwith a cordage of lianas, the pretty pink Honolulu

creeper wreathing the lesser trees. There are fre-

quent clearings in this cultivated jungle. Each

cottage stands in its own palm and plantain-grove

for shade and food, and pasture for cattle, of which

there is plenty of all colours and sorts, bufikloes for

work in the paddy-fields, and humped bullocks to

draw the matting-covered waggons. The ground is

chiefly red or tawny, with black mud in the rice

swamps.

As we enter the hill-country the vegetation

somewhat changes in its character, though still the

wild wayside flowers are all West Indian, and the

most characteristic trees and shrubs are all foreign-

CEYLON. 285

ers. This is a peculiarity of Ceylon's vegetation ; one

wonders what could have been the original flora of

the island, for the great majority of the trees and

plants here have been introduced by man, and that

within recent historical periods. The temple-tree,

Plumeria acutifoUa, itself is undoubtedly South Ameri-

can, and was probably introduced by the Portuguese,

who first came to Java in 1496—four years after the

discovery of America—and to Ceylon in 15U5. Dr.

Trimen mentions that in 1520 Magellan sailed

direct from South America to the Philippines, and

American plants were at once introduced there. It

was from these islands that the other eastern

tropics obtained many of the plants now so abun-

dant. That extraordinary weed from the NewWorld, the lantana, which abounds here as well as

in the Malay peninsula, seems to be a recent intro-

duction ; it quickly overpowers all lesser plants in

the open ground.

As the forest becomes less dense, losing some of its

jungle-like character, the scenery of piled-up rocks,

peaks, roads, torrent-beds, and bridges becomes more

visible ; and white clouds wrapping the loftiest moun-

tains with their white lace veil. Adam's Peak, seven

thousand three hundred and fifty-three feet high,

is bluest of the blue ; though this is not the highest

mountain in Ceylon, PidurntaMgala is higher bynearly a thousand feet. The tunnelled carriage-

road to Kandy winds white below us, fulfilling,

even before the railway came, the old Kandyanprophecy that their conquerors were to be a people

who should make a road through a rocky hill.

286 CEYLON.

Breakfast is prepared in the refreshraent-car

—

and most of the passengers take breakfast in the

train—and at the stations lovely male creatures,

mahogany-coloured, with red, scanty skirts, bring

pine-apples, yellow bananas, and green coco-nuts,

which they chop deftly with a small sickle, and the

liquor spouts up temptingly. Perhaps the most

picturesque among the crowd, each one of whom is

a study, is a figure leaning on a staff, wearing

a greenish turban and crimson-brown patterned

drapery, and white skirt with its edge dipped in

blue and purple dye.

Still going up-hill, and still beyond the tunnels,

the winding road appears, and terraced cultivation

of rice among rocky hills ; and again the beautiful

views of blue mountains are seen in vistas behind

the palms and scarlet lantana, with dark-fringed

jaggery palms and great rocks in the foreground,

looking across rich valleys bounded by chains of

blue peaks. Here the railway almost overhangs the

precipice. This cliff is called Sensation Rock.

Great rocks are scattered about the hill-sides,

seamed with grass-edged terraces, and we look

down on the tallest areca palms, and across the

valley to a lofty, rocky mountain, with its golden-

lichened sides furrowed perpendicularly like organ

pipes. The vegetation is less profuse up here, but

tea is grown on these yellow hUls. Below us is

the white, winding road, sharply doubling back onitself, and close at hand a gaily-clothed crowd amongthe red roses and poinsettia blossom at Kaonga-

meawa station, chiefly of men wearing scarlet vests

CEYLON. 287

just as gaudy. I see no women ; but tlie men makethemselves beautiful here, and sport salmon-coloured

skirts, green turbans, and Chinese umbrellas. More

green caladiums, crops, cows, reeds, and wild sugar-

cane ; wet rice-beds being banked up, and buffaloes

feeding among the stubble. A sharp curve to the

line above the Mahawely river brings me to Pera-

deniya station, and a hearty welcome from the

director of the famous Peradeniya Gardens. Dr.

Trimen's victoria was at the station, and we drove

across the satin-wood bridge over the Mahawely

river to the director's bungalow just outside the

gardens.

' Boy,' shouts my host, ' boy, bring breakfast;'

and an elegant, full-grown being appears ; a true

Cingalese, his long, shining black hair knotted and

held back by a circular comb. The men's round

combs cost ten rupees ; they are made from the

claws of the turtle, on which the spots and mark-

ings are actually painted, though the natives do not

like the variegated scales of the large shell that weadmire so much.

Breakfast at noon. Ceylon tea six years old : tea

is all the better, like good wine, for being kept long,

if hermetically sealed. This was news to me; T

had heard of the China tea-ships racing home to

bring the new season's tea fresh into the market.

I was impatient until the day cooled sufficiently

for me to go out and see the wonders of Peradeniya,

the paradise of the world, according to Moslemtradition the home provided for Adam and Eve, to

console them for the loss of Eden, and, as a gar-

288 CEYLON.

den merely, occupying botanically the first place,

now that Kew has become a kind of assistant

under-secretary to the Colonial Office, to look after

the agricultural department of the colonies.

Here at least was no illusion dispelled : the garden

is a Kew palm-stove magnified and glorified ; every

tropic tree and plant that I know spindling, drawn

up, and skied to hot-house roofs at home, are here

displayed in full girth, grace, and development. Weentered the gardens by way of a magnificent grove of

India-rubber trees which have attained their full size,

being about half a century old ; their great sinuous

roots, flattened laterally, above ground writhing and

meandering, suggest huge saurians ; the roots, grey

smooth sides, lighted into silver by the tropic sun,

reminded me of the form and colour of the great

sea-serpent that I saw in the Indian Ocean. Onpassing some other tall trees with great buttress-like

roots and stems, I was told to note nature's economyof material of wood-formation. Not far from there

is a fine specimen of the Amherstia nobilis, a

splendid temple-tree, with red and yellow flowers in

long drooping racemes ; this very handsome tree is

in flower all the year round, though blossoming in

greatest profusion from December to March.

A specimen that would have passed unobserved

had it not been pointed out to me was a bo-tree

planted by the Prince of Wales when he was here

in 1875, a scrubby little perishing thing that noamount of attention will cause to grow. These

royal trees labour under disadvantages in youth,

and do no credit to the royal family as gardeners.

CEYLON. 289

The young Princes of Wales, when they were here,

laughingly wondered why the Director did not showa better one. This bo-tree is a great contrast to the

fine tree growing close to the Director's bungalow,

which it shades, and its sharply-pointed leaves on

long stems, quivering like the aspen, give a cool

rustling, refreshing as the murmur of a fountain.

Both of these bo-trees were taken from the sacred

bo-tree at Anurddhapura, the ancient capital of

Ceylon, which is the oldest historical tree in the

world, having been planted 288 B.C. When the

King of Siam made a pilgrimage to Anurddhapura

on his visit to Ceylon he gilt the branches of this

sacred bo-tree.

Dr. Trimen has built a sort of botanical memorial

chapel in honour of Dr. Thwaites, his predecessor as

director of the gardens. It is built with the

characteristic Cingalese crook-backed roof. Dr.

Trimen drew the plan on the model of the octagonal

Buddhist library temple at Kandy. Some people

advised him to build it in Italian style, but this is

in better taste here, and the workmen were able

easily to construct this form that they understood.

On the top of the memorial stone erected in the

centre the natives come and ofi'er flowers to the

manes of Dr. Thwaites : they always lay flowers on

anything like an altar. We smile, but after all the

memorial itself has the same meaning.

The bamboos are among the chief glories of the

garden. All flesh is grass, but, as in persons there

are different degrees, so there are various sorts of

grass, from the sweet meadow-hay to the useful

u

290 CEYLON.

giant bamboo. The yellow stemmed bamboo is

native to Ceylon. This gigantic species of the grass

tribe is perhaps nowhere seen in greater perfection

than at Peradeniya. These golden stems, nine

inches in diameter, resemble great organ-pipes and

some of them are very resonant. Hearing the wind

sighing by its hollow stems one might call this

plant an ^olian organ.

Most of the stems in this clump are of last year's

growth. A patient person may watch them grow

half an inch an hour. I can recommend it as an

amusement to those of contemplative disposition to

sit down and watch the growing stems rise above

certain fixed objects. The culms sprout up in the

wet season like heads of giant asparagus;growing at

the rate of fully a foot in the twenty-four hours they

soon reach their full height of nearly a hundred feet.

Slightly larger than this plant is the giant bambooof Malacca, though the difference is not very marked.

These bamboo clumps are beautiful objects reflected

in the large pond round which they grow. There

is also a male bamboo, with solid stems, very strong

and useful, not native to Ceylon, though frequently

planted.

The interesting family of palms is well represented

here, though there are only three palms peculiar

to the island ; the very graceful tufted but spiny

katu kitul, the sturdy dotalu, and the slender l^nateri

;

for Ceylon, with all its luxuriance, is not rich in

indigenous palms, well as they grow when once

introduced.

Here are the stifi^ Palmyra palm, the large oil

CEYLON. 291

palm, the great plumed Jaggery palm, and the

stately talipot in aloe-like flower, a crown of blossom

twenty feet high : a noble palm, the finest of all. It

flowers but once, after attaining its full altitude, at an

age of between forty and fifty years, and then dies.

The ancient Puskola (ola) MSS. in the Buddhamonasteries are all written with an iron stylus on

narrow strips of talipot palm-leaves boiled and then

dried. The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) never

flowers in Ceylon.

There is a grand specimen of the Seychelles palm,

the extraordinary Coco-de-mer, or double coco-nut,

the largest seed known. This double fruit has been

known for centuries by floating out to sea, or being

washed up on the shores of Ceylon and the Mal-

dives ; but the tree itself was onlv discovered about

one hundred years ago, and it only groAvs in one

or two small islands of the Seychelles group, where

it is now protected. It has fine, long-stemmed fan-

leaves, only one growing each year. The largest

specimen at Peradeniya is about thirty-five years old,

and no stem is yet visible, the growth being extremely

slow. As Dr. Trimen says this palm frequently

attains a height of one hundred feet, it must live

to a vast age. The nut takes ten years to ripen,

and the seed a year or longer to germinate. It

would tax the age and patience of Job to watch the

growth of this tree. Near this is the papaw-tree,

which I only knew from ' Paul and Virginia.' Most

of one's early knowledge of tropical vegetation

comes from ' Paul and Virginia.'

A large specimen of the bo-tree was in course

u2

292 CEYLON.

of being grown over and eclipsed by a parasite

(filicium). All these figs have a parasitic growth,

which gradually takes the place of the original tree

as this decays. Besides the bo-trees and the great

India-rubber-trees (ficus-elastica), there are manyinteresting species of fig-trees in this garden. Ficus

Trimeni, a sort of banyan, but without the supports

to the branches so characteristic of the fig-tree of

Bengal, has a tremendous spread, covering a circle

of ground over two hundred feet in diameter, a

world of shading branches. Dr. Trimen is encour-

aging some depending shoots of the true banyan

(ficus Bengalensis) to droop and take root across

a carriage-drive, and shade it. This well-known tree

is common in the dry districts of India. At Pera-

deniya I see the plan, the rationale of tropical vege-

tation : climbing-plants and jungle-growths, all knit

together by the ratan, &c. ; the shelter, food, and

clothing, the whole life of the people ; the whole

economy of tropical life, which it is impossible to

comprehend in the bewildering forest itself.

The tallest of the fig family (ficus altissima)

offers in its topmost branches a playground for a

number of large fruit-eating bats, or flying-foxes,

whose movements are curious to watch. The garden

itself is the haunt of numerous squirrels and other

harmless animals.

Most curious among the lianas and other para-

sites of the tall forest-trees are the rope-like stems

of the dul (anodendrum), twisting like a long snake

over other stems ; the thorny ratan grappling itself

up to the light by its long-hooked tendrils. The

CEYLON. 293

stems of this climbing palm sometimes attain a

length of several hundred feet. These are the canes

of commerce. The long festoons of bignonia, the

dark and handsome climbing arum, and many other

creepers stretched across from tree to tree, tangled

in strange knots, and twisted in wild, luxuriant

confusion, aflford a series of densely-shaded pictures

that exhaust the mind in attempting to follow the

endless variety of the earth's riches, while the ex-

quisite colours that fringe the masses on the borders

that the sunshine touches bring before the eyes a

vision of hitherto unimagined loveliness.

The fernery is a delightful maze of tropical foliage

in various forms and hues. The ground is shaded

by lofty trees, and watered by numerous rivulets

flowing by side of the shady paths. The tree-

trunks are covered with a variety of creepers,

orchids, and parasites of most fanciful form and

colour. There are fern-houses besides, with tile-

roofs and tatties, or sun-blinds. The ferns are

planted in bamboo pots, and on porous chatties,

where they grow outside and suck up the water.

They split the smaller bamboo pots (for cuttings)

before planting in them, so that the roots are undis-

turbed when the plants have to be transplanted.

They do not employ Chinese gardeners, good though

they be. There is no Chinese element in Ceylon

at all; indeed, there is not a Chinaman in the

island. They have tried to get a footing in Ceylon,

but the Tamils completely undersell them. There

are few or no manufactures in Ceylon.

We stood under the fatal upas-tree unscathed.

294 CEYLON,

The foundation for the story of the upas-tree valley

of death, in Java, is not the influence of the tree,

but of a deadly vapour arising from some springs

in its neighbourhood. The upas-tree is harmless

enough, though from it is extracted a poison said

to owe its properties to the presence of strychnia.

The Javanese tree is called Antiaris toxicaria ; the

Ceylon variety of the upas is called Ant : Innoxia.

There is no perceptible diiference between them

;

both have a tall, straight, slender stem. They are

closely allied, if not the same plant.

Among other curious trees are the Chinese weep-

ing-cypress, used at Chinese funerals and planted

by their graves—a very graceful, feathery cypress

—

and the very bright-green rain-tree, the guango of

South America, much planted in India and Ceylon

for shade. But to give a list would catalogue the

garden which the whole world has contributed to

enrich.

The choice cultivated flowers and foliage-plants

in the shelter-houses, (for one cannot call them hot-

houses here) come from London, from Bull, Veitch,

and others. This reminds me of the Duke of

Sutherland's story of his asking for orchids in the

West Indies and hearing that their best all camefrom Trentham.

Phloxes do well, roses not very well ; they haveconstantly to be renewed from England.

' Look at my substitute for lavender ;' the

Director pointed out a small salvia: 'the best I

can do as imitation ; the colour exact, but no odour.'

How natural it is that they should best enjoy what

CEYLON. 296

reminds them of home. I knew a retired Member of

Council of India who, when he came home to Eng-

land, enjoyed the wild flowers so rapturously that

he liked to plant primroses and other ' weeds ' in his

wife's magnificent gardens, while she vainly tried

to gain his admiration for the superb collection of

orchids he had, in the course of years, sent her from

India. No, he loved best the wildings that reminded

him of his boyhood. There is much that is home-

like in Ceylon, especially after seeing Siam. Indeed,

England feels like next door when we hear that the

quickest mail from London has arrived in fifteen

days.

'Doesn't this remind you of an old ivy-grown

abbey ?' We were walking up a road by a line of

tall old tree-trunks that did indeed look like ruined

columns, covered as they were with masses of the

Burmese thunbergia, whose close-growing polished

leaves are so suggestive of ivy, did not its large,

pale-blue flowers weaken the illusion. ' We call

these the ruins.' I was for examining more closely

the pseudo ivy-grown banks, when the Director

advised me not to stray far into the thickets. ' Wehave done our best to extirpate the numerous

cobras from the more frequented parts of the gar-

dens, but they are found just here perhaps more often

than anywhere else.' I kept strictly to the paths

after this hint, which so strongly reminded me of

the presence of serpents even in Paradise.

Near here was a singular flower called Napoleonia

imperialis, with blossoms growing curiously back

against the stem, of bufi', purple, and cream-white

;

296 CEYLON.

more like a sea-anemone than an imperial crown.

The nutmegs are not quite ripe, the mace enclosing

them is as yet a delicate pink, shading off into

white. The fragrant allspice is agreeable as you

crush the leaves. These spice-trees form a dark

evergreen bower, meeting across the walks. Near

tbere are the jack-fruit and the durian growing out

at once from the stout timber stems and branches

of full-grown trees ; and likewise the wild bread-

fruit, of the same family as the jack, a tree useful

for house, food, and clothing, and for many con-

veniences besides.

Early hours are kept here : the first breakfast is

never later than seven o'clock. In the night I heard

the noise of an animal; I thought it was in myroom. I thought of the stuffed ' pantherette ' down-

stairs that Dr. Trimen had shot close by ; could it be

a beast of this sort that had climbed up a tree, leapt

on to the shingle verandah-roof, and in at my open

window? I kept my shuddering as little audible as

I could, not wanting to direct attention to myself.

All the books I had been reading lately pointed in

the direction of alarm. I heard lapping of water,

and thought the creature had got at the water-jug.

I felt like Jack-o'-the-Beanstalk when the giant,

snuffing about, utters the awful words, 'Fe fi fo fuin.'

Silence again, and I began to hope the creature hadgone out of mndow the way he came. Next morn-ing I found it was Dr. Trimen's little dog, Charlie,

woolly-white and aged, who was in the habit of

making night hideous with his wanderings and his

asthma. We had home-grown coffee as well as tea

CEYLON. 297

for breakfast, for, though the coffee hand is con-

sidered played out in Ceylon, they still grow a little

Liberian coffee. I mentioned meeting a train full

of tea.

' Yes,' said the Director, ' harvesting goes on at

all seasons pretty nearly. Tea is a very long-

suffering tree, it always responds. Ceylon is just

the country for a tree grown for its leaves. They

nearly strip the tree, and young buds shoot out

almost immediately. In many ways the tea culti-

vatioQ has been a great boon to Ceylon. Since wehave taken to tea, the fashion for heavy drinking is

gone out. Fashion in things is greater than any

moral force : people in India drink less than they

did ; they take fewer pick-me-ups.'

' It is the fashion everywhere to take less, I fancy.'

' Yes, and besides that the Ceylon planters are

poorer since their losses in the coffee plantations.'

Tea did not find such ready favour among them

at first as a substitute for coffee-cultivation, because

it required preparation ; besides, the forests were too

lavishly cut down in the clearings, and now the

planters find they have to pay high for wood to dry

their tea. They planted the coffee too exclusively,

and the mysterious blight fell upon it;proving, ac-

cording to the universal experience, that it is not

good for one vegetable to grow alone.

The early morning was' deliciously cool and fresh

with the breeze blowing down from the blue moun-

tains round, and with the morning flowers all out that

wither in the noontide. We went for a long walk

round the grounds, shrivelling the sensitive plant

298 CEYLON.

as we walked across the dewy turf, our footsteps

causing a blackened train of blight to fall on the

turf covered with this tender lilac-tasselled grass,

whose very stems as well as leaflets shrink from our

touch. The river is low from the drought, for the

season has been unusually dry. With heavy rain

there is sometimes as much as twenty-four feet

difference in one night in the height of the river.

' Here is my farmyard.'

The Director showed me with justifiable pride his

pretty calves and numerous cows that supply himwith milk and fresh butter every morning ; . real

luxuries in the tropics. Here are likewise some

emeus from Australia.

From this we went to the building which was

originally the Director's bungalow, and. which

—

so like a man—he has turned into a museum,

and to the herbarium, where are kept the collection

of dried plants and drawings of Ceylonese plants bya native who is kept always employed in drawing

and painting from the plants, which he does remark-

ably well, this sort of flower-painting being eminently

adapted to native notions of art. Another native

is constantly at work drying and preparing the

plants and sticking them into books.

The economic value of these gardens to the

planters is very great, teaching them what they

can or cannot profitably grow. Planters bring

their troubles, too, to the Director, and their invalid

coco-trees, blights, mildews, and what not. Oneof these houses is a kind of hospital for diseased

plants. Besides tea and cacao, cinchona is now so

CEYLON. 299

largely planted in Ce34on that the j^rice has gone

down. The bark is often only twopence a pound,

and at that price does not pay the cost of peeling.

Quinine, which used to sell at fourteen shillings the

ounce, is now sold at one shilling and threepence.

The market for it is entirely ruled by Ceylon.

Directly the planters think they can make a little

money, they throw a million pounds into the market

and down the prices go again.

In the afternoon we drove to Kandy, a pleasant

drive of four miles. We went to the Queen's Hotel

to call on the Duke and hear his plans for the week.

We went on to see the Art Museum, got up byDr. Trimen and a few gentlemen of Kandy, where

curios are collected, and the natives are encouraged

to copy the old manufactures for sale.

We went to the library and reading-room by the

lake, a very comfortable institution, then to the

famous Temple of the Tooth : the ' Dalada ' or tooth

of Buddha. The temples here are comparatively

plain, as is natural for the places of worship in what

is like a reformed Buddhism. In Thibet and Siam

Buddhism is a ritual; in Ceylon it is merely a

philosophy.

The Temple of the Tooth is Indian in style, in its

Cingalese development : some of it is of late date,

and some of it much earlier. It is surrounded by a

cloister curiously painted with the Buddhist Inferno

in all manner of Dantesque designs,—like the fresco-

dreadfuls of the middle ages. The tooth itself could

not be seen, as it is only exhibited once a year. If

the Duke of Sutherland asked especially to see it, it

300 CEYLON.

would be shown, but he had seen it before, when

here with the Prince of Wales, and none of us cared

much about it. Dr. Trimen believes the Buddha

tooth to be simply a bit of ivory ; but, if it is a tooth

at all, it is most likely that of a creature called the

dugong, something like the "West Indian manatee

{Helicore dugong). The flesh of this herbivorous mam-

mifer is greatly superior to that of the green turtle.

We went up an external winding flight of stone

stairs to see the library where the famous Buddhist

records are kept, written on talipot palm-leaves all

strung together and held by chased silver backs,

handsome and very precious ; these were shown to

us by a shaven-headed yellow-robed priest. Gautama,

the Buddha, spoke Magadhi, the language of the

kingdom of Magadha, now called Behar. As con-

taining the sacred books of the Buddhists it is called

Pali ' row, series.' These Pali writings and records

are called ola books. This octagonal building, which

has the Kandyan crook-backed roof, is the same

that Dr. Trimen copied for the Thwaites memorial

in the Peradeniya Gardens. The views of and from

this temple are truly delightful, situated as it is

overhanging the moat and artificial lake, bordered

with open-worked stone balustrading of quaint

pattern, that gives charm and coolness to Kandy.

We went to the Court of Justice, where weadmired the old carved wood pillars, of the squared

tapering form so peculiarly Cingalese, with carved

capitals. The Kandyans of old had a genius for

carpentry. Thence we went to the bright and

pretty Pavilion Gardens, the private grounds of

CEYLON. 801

the Governor of Ceylon, now away on leave. Above

these gardens rise the densely-shaded hills inter-

sected with winding pathways, one of which is

called Lady Horton's walk, that lead to a summit

giving a fine view of Kandy and its charming

situation in a valley surrounded by hills of varied

outline ; the distant peaks blue with forests, the

nearer slopes broken and agreeably diversified, but

mostly green and smiling, and reflected in the glassy

lake. We wound up our promenade by going to the

pretty English church to hear a special Lent sermon

by the Archdeacon, a great friend of Dr. Trimen's.

We had a pleasant drive back to Peradeniya bymoonlight, the white road crowded by swarthy Cinga-

lese out enjoying the air, and still blacker Tamils who,

by their continual immigrations from Southern India,

have driven the Cingalese southward in the island.

We ate bread-fruit at dinner instead of potatoes.

It eats something like mashed potato, only more

insipid. Dr. Trimen took pains that I should taste

and try the various native fruits and vegetables

;

the monster pineapples, full of j uice, were the best

of any.* We took our coffee in the verandah,

where we sat talking of mutual friends and rela-

tions as we enjoyed the cool air and fire-fly-studded

shade. There were comparatively few fire-fiies, be-

cause of the unusual drought, also no reptiles. I

was glad of the latter, though it was another dis-

pelled illusion. I had read of the multitudes of cobras

in Ceylon, and I had seen none save the tame one

belonging to the conjuror in Colombo.

* Note C. Appendix.

302 CEYLON.

' We must bring you in a cobra to keep up the

credit of tbe country,' said my host. ' They always

know where to lay their hands on a cobra whenthey want one.'

A few days ago a cobra crawled under Dr. Tri-

men's writing-table ; he told his ' boy ' to kill it whenit had crept under the matting. The ' boy ' slew it,

saying it was a low-caste cobra. They will not

usually kill cobras—though they are very easily

slain—as they are in some sort sacred animals.

They speak of the Director's dog as a high-caste

dog. The natives at once distinguish the differ-

ence of the caste of white people, and call an ill-

bred Englishman a pariah gentleman. The philoso-

phic Buddhist condemns caste distinctions. ' Aman,' he says, 'is whatever caste he makes himself

Deeds are the test of caste to the Buddhist, as birth

is to the Brahmin. The respectable father of a

family, whom Dr. Trimen calls ' boy,' or ' bhoy,' is

the principal servant in the house. I gather from

the Anglo-Indian dictionary that boy must be

an old Sanscrit word. A lad is called sraallo

boy.

Were it not for the insects, nothing could be moredelightful than to sit thus, at morn or dewy eve, in

the entrance porch, shaded by tatties and sur-

rounded by flowers of crimson hibiscus. ' That's a

nice bit of colour, plain red and yellow, none of

your gaudy colours.' The sand-flies— * poochies ' is

their name for troublesome insects of all kinds—do

not worry one so much while reading or talking

with a hand free, but once sit down to write or

CEYLON. 303

draw and they show themselves determined foes to

literature and art.

We are not so much troubled by mosquitoes—as

in Malaya, at least ; and leeches have not sought

my life : I have seen none. This, they tell me, is be-

cause of the dry weather, but I know a lady whospent six months on a tea plantation in Ceylon with-

out finding a single leech. The men digging showed

me a queen white ant, a ' hen white ant,' the ' boy

'

calls it. They have dug up an ants' nest, and the

natives eat the queen ants as a delicacy. The little

head and legs look so funny struggling out of that

enormous body. It suggests to one a little man en-

cumbered with a great position. Dr. Trimen says

it is very unpleasant when, after a shower of rain,

an ants' nest is disturbed'; the ants rise in a cloud

like smoke and come in myriads into the houses,

covering everything, and rise again, shedding their

wings like dew.

An old steel areca-nut cutter was brought round

to see if Dr. Trimen, who often buys curiosities,

would purchase it. They have no clue to the

reason of our likings, except that we like what is

old, and, the more apparently useless it is, the

better we seem to,like it. They must look upon us

as very daft. Whatever rubbish they have by themthey bring round to try to sell ; sometimes, as on

the present occasion, it happens to be the wrongthing, and they depart melancholy and mystified.

The finely-wrought, silver-mounted native knives

are now becoming scarce. There is little of the

native engraved brass-work now to be had, but it

304 CEYLON.

can always be made to order ; and if they are not

hurried the natives will work it now as finely as

ever.

On Palm Sunday morning, after breakfasting at

six, we had a truly delightful drive into Kandy to

the first service, at a quarter-past seven, at the neat

and pretty church. The cool of the morning here

is the perfection of climate, and to me the whole of

the road is interesting, from the elegant entrance-

gates of the Botanic Gardens, shaded by a grove of

choice palms, near which the women of the village

are always sitting by the roadside with open

baskets of grain for sale to casual passers-by,

through the road bordered by strange trees which

are a continual delight to me, to the bright and

pleasant village suburbs of Kandy, where many

Portuguese customs and fashions in building still

remain, and houses with pillared fronts and lofty

steps up to our old-fashioned porticos- It is singu-

lar that while, as in Siam, many memorials linger

in Ceylon of Portuguese rule in words and local

laws, few or no traces exist of the Dutch settle-

ment here, except the coco-groves of the shore.

In Ceylon is seen the Aryan village life in all its

fulness. The head-man rules, and doubtless taxes

the people, and probably bullies them; but they

are less taxed than formerly. To them there is

otherwise little difference between our rule and that

of the native kings : they still have their paddy-

fields in common. The reason of this is that they

must all share in common the water-supply that

overflows their fields. The sowing of the rice

CEYLON. 805

in the flooded fields is perhaps one meaning of ' Cast

thy bread upon the waters, for thou shalt find it

after many days.' One supply of water serves the

whole valley full of terraces. It is the one thing'the

natives are clever in, utilising the water-supply for

agriculture, and this they probably learnt of the

Arabs, who introduced the coffee, whose descendants

are the Moormen of the towns. A channel is dug

on each side of the field in case of an overflooding byrain.

Rice for the priests' food is placed in bowls by the

wayside. They have such a strict vow of poverty

that even the yellow robe, their only possession, is

torn up and sewn again to make it valueless as a

piece of stuff. The Buddhist priest's yellow robe is

supposed to be woven, dyed, torn, and sewn up and

made all in one day. The superior priests often

Avear satin and fine silk robes ; they should not, as

silk cannot be obtained without destroying life, so

it is not lawful for the priests. They are supposed

to hold a palm-leaf fan before their face always, as

they may not look at anyone, especially not at a

woman. Like other priesthoods, they do not strictly

keep their rule.

We passed a very fat priest who did not look as if

he lived on the leavings of other people's rice. Wemet picturesque groups carrying flowers and offer-

ings covered with white handkerchiefs to the temple,

and a procession of country people with temple

ofi'erings, young coco-nuts, palms, &c., accompanying

a priest from one village to another.

We saw some Siamese nuns : there is a colony of

X

806 CEYLON.

them here. I did not hear of these nuns in Siam.

After church we called on the Duke, who had given

up the idea of going to Nuwara Elya, fearing the

cold of its high elevation. Mr. Cobham has re-

turned from Nuwara Elya (City of Light.) He is

disappointed with it :' Oh, dear no, it is nothing

near to Darjeeling.' The English love the place so

much because there they find the home-flowers, and

by their firesides they can almost fancy themselves

in England. Of course we did not yet want to do

that. Mr. Cobham finds Kandy more amusing.

As the Governor of Ceylon was away on leave,

there were no receptions and ceremonials, which

made life easier for the Duke, who wished to rest

and recruit quietly after the fatigues of Siam and

Malaya. The Kandyan chiefs, however, insisted on

welcoming him, and came to meet him at the Temple

of the Tooth in full costume of necklaces, and manyvoluminous petticoats. Full dress takes this form

in Ceylon as well as in Europe. The Duke madethem a pretty speech, which Mr, Neville interpreted

perhaps prettier. They seemed to like it.

We went to Nata-dewali, formerly a Tamil

temple, now Bhuddist. This is a cluster of woodentemples and white stone dagobas gathered in a grove

on the shore-side of the road by the lake. In the

temple precincts is a large bo-tree, planted origin-

ally as a slip from the sacred tree at Anurkdhapura.

The views all round the lake with its charming

island, on which are still some remains of the harem

of the native Kings of Kandy, and the varied temple

architecture grouped about its shores, afford a series

CEYLON. S07

of tempting scenes to the sketcher. Kandy abounds

in such scenery. We lunched at Mr. Neville's pretty

and charmingly-situated bungalow by the lake. Hehas a perfect museum of Cingalese curios, antiquities,

and treasure of natural history. He is the editor of

the Taprobanian, a scientific and archaeological paper

full of connoisseurship, which he writes from cover

to cover. We sat down only three to luncheon,

though the Cingalese 'boy' laid the table for four,

according to their custom. Even if one person is

dining alone, they lay covers iov four. Dr. Trimen

had arranged a pic-nic in the gardens for the Dukeand his party, but the much-needed rain came downand spoiled the day for us. However, his Grace

came out another day instead, and enjoyed the

grounds, hearing all about everything of interest

from the Director, and gaining, as he always tries to

do, hints for home improvements. The intelligent

peon who attended us is in the habit of conducting

people round the gardens. As he knows the

Director's guide-book oif by heart, people mostly

remark, ' What an intelligent guide, he knows the

names of all the plants !'

Dr. Trimen accompanied the Duke in a drive round,

by the now full and cafe-au-lait coloured river, the

Mahawelyganga, which surrounds the gardens on

all sides except the south, where they are bounded

by the high-road. This river, the largest in Ceylon,

the Ganges of Ptolemy's maps, is about one hun-

dred and fifty miles long, and falls into the sea at

Trincomalee on the east coast. The vignette views

from the gardens, of the river embowered in foliage,

x2

808 CEYLON.

are enchanting, especially that seen near the place

where we took our tea, where the Mahawely is

crossed by the satin-wood bridge of a single span;

an enchanting view framed in light tresses of bam-

boo. 'Almost equal to Darjeeling, I fancy;' the

Duke glanced at Mr. Cobham.

There was a lovely moonlight after the rain.

Fire-flies hovered thickly about the large mango-tree

before the lawn, and the great bo-tree near the house

was a beautiful object, dropping showers of rain off

its pointed pendulous leaves quivering in the breeze,

while a multitude of fire-flies lit it up into a fountain

of luminous sparks.

Dr. Trimen one day ordered a chaise-a-porteurs

with four coolies to carry me to see some temples

at about six or seven miles from here. There

is a fine group of temples within a radius of

half-a-dozen miles or so. Gadaladeniya is the chief

one we are going to.see ; then if we have time, and

it is practicable, we shall see Lankatilakawihara,

called the most striking Buddhist temple. Thetemples of Embekke and Wegiriya are within three

miles of these. We talked about the temples and read

about them in the guide-book, but I do not think

we really saw any of these, as there is such a muddlewith the names ; no two people call them alike.

At three o'clock the carriage came round and westarted for Galangoda (? Gadaladeniya). We drove

as far as we could, and then turned off to the by-

path where the coolies were waiting. They hoisted

my chair on their shoulders by long bamboo poles;

I felt like the Pope must feel when thus carried.

CEYLON. 809

The uneven ground made it difficult to balance the

chair, and once they let me fall, chair and all;

luckily it was a piece of turfy ground where I fell,

and I was soon mounted again. The bearers wereCingalese, who bore the bamboo-poles on their

shoulders, Tamils would have canned them on their

heads, thus I had the less far to drop. Fortunately

too for me, they did not spill me over into the newly-

sown paddy swamps, lying deep below the path.

A train full of coolies was once upset into the paddy-

fields, wbere they were nearly all suffocated.

On turning the angles of a dark frowning basaltic

rock, the white temple of Galangoda appeared as a

surprise. It is in style Indian Renaissance, quite

modern, and dazzling in the whiteness and newness

of its European-looking columns and mouldings.

It is built in two stories above the ground-floor,

which also is led up to by a flight of steps. There

is something to be learnt from the love of semi-

savage nations for the Renaissance, in white marble

or white-wash. Internally the nave, with its four

massive octagonal pillars and round arches, resembles

the crypt of a Christian church. It is painted in the

primitive colours and green, with figures and

patterns, thus : flesh unmitigated red, clothing

green or yellow, skies blue, trees green. There is

an ambulatory round this painted shrine.

A staircase, in the chancel, led to an upper

temple, to which they would not let us ascend

without taking off our shoes, a ceremonial that

Dr. Trimen has never known required during his

residence in Ceylon ; but here they made even the

310 CEYLON.

Governor of Ceylon take his boots off. I did not

mind, as in these warm climates it is a comfort to

take off one's shoes and walk on the stone pavement

in thin stockings.

The wall-paintings along the corridors are very

Byzantine in style and colour. The shrine of the

upper temple is very rich in costly treasures. The

fine gilt-bronze dagoba here protected by a strong

metal cage, was seen in the Kandyan portion of the

Ceylon court at the Colonial Exhibition. Candles

were lighted, that we might examine the jewels

and the very fine chased work in silver-gilt on the

dagoba within the cage, and the brass and silver

bo-trees growing by it, representing a grove. Acommon green-glass ball (sacred, I presume, or else

representing the sun) is hung above these treasures

among the elegant golden lotus-flowers suspended

9,bove the dagoba, and spreading like a firmament

of spherical leaves and blossoms. Several small

figures of Buddha, in gold or silver, in the three

•positions—seated, standing, or reclining—are dis-

posed about. On the surrounding brass lamps are

figures of cocks. The ceilings are painted with

Buddhas seated in meditation. Near the shrine

are numerous life-sized figures in painted plaster.

,' This face belongs to a priest living now,' was said

of one of these figures, a portrait-model. Notflattering, I should imagine.

We were able to converse mth the priests, as wehad the Director's ' boy ' with us, as well as the

intelligent peon. They showed us an ivory Bud-

dha, carved, they said, out of elephants' bones, and

CEYLON 311

a Burmese Buddha in white marble, looking verydifferent to any of the others—calmer, or, at anyrate, smoother.

Red lilies are chief among the floral offerings.

This again is unusual in a Buddhist temple. 'Plenty

books,' they tell us ; and show us some ola books

inscribed on papyrus of the talipot palm. Thewall-paintings in the upper-front corridor are amus-

ing. A central picture of elephants cantering upAdam's Peak, with offerings to the foot-print, is

very comical, as are a series of scenes in the

Buddhist inferno : one of a victim having his teeth

taken out with red-hot tongs by blue-devils. There

is a great connection between tooth-ache and blue-

devils. Demon-worship, or propitiation of what

might do them harm, was the original superstition

in Ceylon, and still has a far greater hold on the

people than Buddhism. A black band painted

round the coco-trees is a charm against the evil

eye.

The different vices are variously treated in this

inferno. A hunting-man is being torn to pieces byblue dogs. I suppose he is a type of cruelty : a

huntsman would naturally be held chief of sinners

by Buddhists. On the wall here is a picture of the

great precipitous rock outside this temple, and of

people leaping off the rock into lions' mouths. This

was explained to be Buddha giving himself to be

devoured by the starving tiger. If so, he had

followers, and tigers in his day had no stripes.

In a large side-chapel is a colossal reclining

Buddha, nineteen yards long. The figure is painted

312 CEYLON.

red. One calculation makes this Buddha forty feet

long. We measured it, and found it nineteen yards

long (fifty-seven feet). The walls of this large room,

which is nearly filled with the great red Buddha,

are painted all over with yellow-clad priests, each

bearing a flower for an offering. Strewn on the

long console below the gigantic Buddha were roses,

yellow bignonias, and red vallota-lilies, the blossoms

of the temple-tree, of course, and the areca fruit,

looking like green ears of some cereal.

Galangoda is the only two-storied temple that

Dr. Trimen has ever seen here. From a drawing

one would never guess what part of the world the

temple belonged to ; it is such a curious jumble of

whitewashed Renaissance and Hindoo, yet with a

difi"erence to both. Water flows from the tall, dark

rock which shelters the temple.

The Buddhist priests here, and our followers,

look on the Director and myself as extremely religi-

ous persons, who take a great deal of trouble to

visit the temples.

The Director, the intelligent peon, and the ' boy'

botanise all along the road. Our followers andthe country people here all know the names of their

plants ; so unlike our yokels, who can recognise few,

and others who know none. They call Dr. Trimen' the great flower-master.'

There was another small temple, and a sharply-

pointed dagoba, situated likewise under a rock in

the valley below us, visible between the graceful

palms and slim stems of the areca-palrus spiring up

steep hill-sides ; and, farther on, we examined a

CEYLON. 313

small temple painted outside with life-sized ele-

phants. This is scarcely more than a way-side

chapel, though a great resort of pilgrims. Near

this latter temple is a newly-planted bo-tree brought

from Anuradhapura.

Lady-day is about the longest day here, or rather

just now are their longest evenings. To-day

(28th of March) it is daylight till nearly seven

p.m. The moonlight played beautifully on the

river, and on the pearly masses of cloud that had

hardly yet lost the rose-flush of sunset ; and, on

our road home, we could distinguish the gay colours

worn by a crowd of people surrounding a sacred

elephant, one belonging to the temple at Kandy : wecould even see its faint white markings. More than

usually exquisite was the view of the blue mountains

beyond the dark satin-wood bridge, and the olive-

hued reflections of the palm-groves by the river.

This delicious island has been a dream, an oasis

of rest.

I left Peradeniya early next morning, with a feel-

ing of more than thankfulness for the repose it

had been to me. Dr. Trimen accompanied me to Co-

lombo. We joined the Duke and his party at Pera-

deniya junction and journeyed down together. It is

seventy miles to Colombo, the rail a single line,

broad gauge six feet six inches. Cow-catchers are

attached to the engines ; they catch many cows, as

so many half-starving bullocks stray on the line.

We ascend a hundred feet and then comes a rapid

descent, an incline of one in forty-five for twelve

miles. Here we cross the water-shed, whence the

314 CEYLON.

Mahawely river flows down to the Bay of Trin-

comalee. The country is like a relief map as we

run along the dizzy verge of the Sensation Rock.

Yonder is a rocky peak on a hill, looking like a

Rhenish castle, this and the table-shaped mass

called the Bible Rock remain long visible, through

clusters of scarlet erythrina,aswewind round the hill.

' It doesn't stand the test ?' said we to Mr. Cobham.' No, certainly not equal to Darjeeling.'

This damped us, but Dr. Trimen said that Dar-

jeeling, though grand, has only one view, while

Ceylon has a great variety.

'To look at the country from here,' Dr. Trimen

said, ' you might think it almost inhabited, but it

is one mass of little villages ; wherever you see that

white tree there is sure to be a house ; it is the oil-

tree. But now kerosine is hawked about through-

out the country : thus the local industries are dying

out everywhere.'

Except what Dr. Trimen gives unofficially, there

is little teaching afforded as to the use of manyof the native trees, nor encouragement to manu-

facture hitherto unknown articles. The Indian

forestry of&cials are rather red-tape-tied.

Tamil workmen were roofing a shed with platted

palm-leaves, the fringed edges forming a loose-looking

thatch. They use these coarsely-platted palm-leaves

for fencing, shading, and for rough baskets. There

are few other manufactures even of this inferior

kind. They are entirely an agricultural people.

Seeing no capacity among the people now-a-days

for manufactures, one marvels at the Kandyan

CEYLON. 315

carpentry in the Buddhist library and the Hall of

Justice in the former native capital.

Here at Polgawhela station is one of the few womenI have seen travelling about ; she wears a pretty

silver ornament in her hair, but this is of Indian

manufacture. Nearly all the names of the stations

are taken from trees. Pol is the coco-nut-tree.

Here are a lot of Salvation Army people wearing

red cotton shirts with yellow inscriptions, and red

turbans, salmon-coloured cotton skirts, and scarfs.

The costume is picturesque on a native, but the

English enthusiasts wear just the same, bare feet

and all. Other men in equally lively costumes

come round offering caroomba, young coco-nut.

' All your stations seem called the same name,'

says a griffin, Avho has heard caroomba cried at all

the stations.

They bring round pastry, too, made of wheaten

flour, which is always called American flour. This

is a thing quite unknown in the island, except near

the towns.

Dr. Trimen supplies all the gay station gardens

with flowers gratis. He is well-known along the

line, as, besides Peradeniya and the pretty pavilion

flower-garden at Kandy, he has the control of the

branch botanical establishments at Hakgala, a tem-

perate garden, situated at an elevation of five thou-

sand eight hundred feet, adapted to the cultivation

of European and Australian plants, and those of

tropical mountain regions ; at Anarddhapura, the

ancient capital of Ceylon, ninety miles north of

Kandy, possessing a dry climate with a short rainy

316 CEYLON.

season, suited to the growth of tropical plants and

crops that are intolerant of continuous atmospheric

moisture ; and at Henaratgoda, a steaming tropical

garden not far from Colombo.

The names of the stations are written up in

Cingalese, Tamil, and English. The Cingalese use

round, the Tamils square characters ; both read from

left to right, like all the Aryan languages. Here is

Mirigama, written mrgm, vowels, especially a, being

understood, the i's are combined with the conso-

nants. We fall to talking of philology ; each of us

has a nice little theory, of course, but it does not

agree -with the facts of the case.

The Tamil coolies have a system of names en-

tirely their own. If you lose your way it is no use

knowing the real name of the place you want to

find, as the Tamil names are entirely different. Mr.

Jones, say, opened an estate, these Tamil immi-

grants wiU call it Jonistohun, whereas it may nowbe owned by a Mr. Smith, and the English owner

perhaps calls it Abbotsham. The stations are covered

with English advertisements.

What a wonderful garden it is all the way, and

just the same all the year round : a monotony of

richness ; only now the buffaloes are ploughing the

paddy mud. Here are the remains of former

cinnamon gardens, and here is the broad Colomboriver, the Kelaniganga, and here are fishermen,

wearing their very large thick hats. They are

above their knees in water for hours, and need to

have the head protected. It is intensely hot here

at the sea-level. Here is the fishermen's church

:

CEYLON. S17

the fisher population round the coast are RomanCatholics to a man. Their trade is scorned by the

Buddhists. They give to the church a tithe of all

the fish they catch. The Roman Catholic priests

here are mostly Italians.

To our surprise there was no one at the station

to meet us : but Dr. Trimen helped us to get a bul-

lock waggon, covered with platted palm-leaves, for

the luggage, and it was sent down to the quay under

the care of Bertha and Dark Charlie, travelling in a

carriage keeping it in view.

Dr. Trimen took me for a drive round Galle Face, bythe sapphire sea curling in on the sands with its fresh

sea-smells, on a smooth road shaded by bright green

lettuce-trees and the yellow hibiscus, called by the

English tulip-tree. We came in sight of the favourite

Mount Lavinia Hotel, and then drove round outside

the town by the cinnamon gardens, the plumbago

works, the breezy lake, and the road between groves

and gardens where the villas and bungalows of Eng-

lishgentlemen and richmerchants are mostlysituated.

The plumbago or graphite is the only mineral of

commercial importance exported from Ceylon. Themining industry is entirely in the hands of the

Cingalese, who work it in a primitive fashion even

as deep as three hundred feet. This is the finest

plumbago in the world for crucible purposes, and

this valuable trade has sprung up entirely within

the last forty years.

Here in the East we do not feel as we often do on

the Continent that the English are ages behind

other nations.

318 CEYLON.

We sat awhile in the cool, covered pier waiting

for a boat to the yacht ; none being forthcoming, wewondered whose business it was to look after the

harbour. The people here seemed only to want to

look on. The pier-master's business is ' to wallop

all these people and to loaf about.' The Duke's

letter to his steward had by some oversight not

been sent on board the yacht, so there was no one to

meet us and no boats were waiting. On our return

from bespeaking lunch at the hotel by chits for

' chickeny stew,' hashed chicken and ' hairy stew,'

jugged hare—Mr. Cobham being interviewed on the

way by people connected with the rival newspapers

eager to get copy from him—we heard a rumour of

his Grace being obliged to go out to his own yacht

in a casual catamaran.

' Forbid it, ye powers !' we exclaimed, and Dr.

Trimen used his knowledge of the language to avert

such a catastrophe. The casual catamaran would have

been named after the Duke of Sutherland at once.

We went to the hotel to tiffin. Dr. Trimen

seemed to know everybody, and we all met acquaint-

ances. One is sure to meet somebody one knows in

this Clapham Junction of the East. Herries and our

bos'un in dashing mufti passed through the hotel

corridor looking about them cool and critical as if

about to rent the premises ; ergo, Herries and the

bos'un were not on board. I went out and spoke

them returning. They were thunderstruck ! having

heard nothing of our coming. At once there was

a rush ; the boatswain flew off to his boats, Herries

became completely the steward again, and hurried

CEYLON. 319

off to buj' up all Colombo market and bring it off.

Meanwhile, instead of weighing anchor for Englandat three o'clock as the Duke intended doing, we fell

a prey to all the pertinacious jewellers, and mer-

chants of moonstones, and ivory elephants, and

tortoiseshell catamarans in Colombo.

The yacht itself was in the lively condition of

being upset for cleaning : odours of soft soap

prevailed above the cinnamon breezes, and we all

fell over rolls of carpet. Dr. Trimen had been

invited to look over the yacht, and as a preliminary,

as Herries had the cabin-keys in his pocket, the

carpenter was called forward to unhang the deck-

house doors, and we boarded the ship burglariously.

We had just read a most flowery description of the

Sans Peur headed ' A Floating Palace of Delight,'

and—here was another illusion dispelled.

At sundown the steward appeared in command of

a broad native boat with his live-stock : two sheep,

six turkeys, myriads of fowls, baskets of eggs, fish,

fruit, and vegetables enough to have left Colombo

hungry many days after our departure.

We soon, perhaps too soon, got shipshape—foe

there was nothing left to grumble at, and for

example's sake one ought to be calm as a Buddha.

The most useful thing any of us bought at

Colombo was a pack of cards. This, after all the

crying up of Colombo as the place to buy choice

stuffs and curios in ! Never tell me of the East

;

London is the place of all others to do your shopping.

I have lost my reckoning of dispelled illusions bythis time.

320

CHAPTER XIII.

THE RETURN VOYAGE.

Summer redundant. Blueness abundant

—

Beamy the world, yet a blank all the same.

Browning.

We dread the long return passage across the Indian

Ocean. We have tried it. It is a popular fallacy

that the world is small. It is not ; it is too big by-

far—at sea.

A long sea-passage is the opportunity for squaring

the circle, or doing anything that one has never yet

found time to do. We played patience with the

new pack of cards. From heat to heat the day

declined.

We sentimentalized over the outward-bound

Messageries steamer, and over our last glimpse of

India ; the distant ghauts half-veiled in pearl-lighted

clouds and grey by distance, which greys all life as

time does, and we are sailing forward into the

golden sunset—homewards, homewards—through a

sea blue as the sapphires of Ceylon. Tender rose

light, like a memory, hangs over the distance which

hides Ceylon itself, the isle of pearls and gardens.

The deep purple edge of the sea keen as a knife

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 321

along the bright still glowing cornelian colour of

the lower western ^ky. The western blaze flamed on

until the full moon rose behind us, a moon so bright

that it seemed literally to scorch us with its light.

We passed between the Maldives, the thousand

isles, very distant, and the nearer Laccadives to

starboard, very low and flat, like a thick black

line in the water, pointed with a lighthouse. This

near flat island is Minicon : we passed through the

eight degrees channel. Ah, the birds seen to-day

were inhabitants of these islands.

The natural history of these islets must be inter-

esting, rich with jetsam and flotsam from so manyshores, yet so isolated.

' In Maldive Islands, in the deep sea lies

A plant of sovereign power by waters fed,

Whose fruit strong poison's influence to prevent

Is held an antidote most excellent.*

Dinner was laid on a small table on deck in picnic

style, pleasant for us all. We made an institution

of this.

Good Friday : the minah bird died, and so did the

beautifully-coloured parrots that the Duke was tak-

ing home to her Grace. The mongoose, out without

leave one night cruising about the ship, frightened

the poor birds : this or a spell of rough weather

destroyed them, we scarcely know which.

The second cook made us hot cross-buns for

breakfast.

An immense shoal of fish is being pursued bybirds. Now they have sheered off and the fish are

* Camoens.

Y

322 THE RETURN VOYAGE.

splashing about very jolly, taking their morning tub.

This sea-travelling induces a curious mixture of

laziness and restlessness. Our diaries are chiefly a

meteorological record. Our chief sport, besides the

game of ' patience,' was playing with the monkeys.

The thrumming of the screw prevents writing,

except on one's lap, and there is little to write

about, and no post-office in reach for many a long

day. One's drawings, with the throbbing of the

screw and the bobbing of the ocean, suff'er a sea-

change into something very strange. It is a clear

drop down to the South Pole, so there is no scenery

to draw; besides which there is considerable motion

in the Indian Ocean: The clock is put back twenty

minutes each day, so hard are we running after the

untireable sun. It is too hot in the saloon to sit at

the piano, and the damp of Siam put it horribly out

of tune. The nights are long hours of lassitude and

heat, but, taking it altogether, we do not find the

return journey quite so trying as we feared. Thoughwe have used up the new books and are thrown

upon Shakespeare and Scott and the ' Sailing Direc-

tory,' ' patience ' is a powerful resource.

The first of April was Easter Sunday. We were

still at sea, day by day steaming westward into the

sunset. A flying-fish flew in at the Duke's port-hole

through the long ventilator and all, he deserved the

Queen's prize for the fine shot ; another flew through

Lady Clare's port right across to her wardrobe.

Poissons d'Avril. We called Mr. Cobham early to

come up and see the Sultan of Johore waving his

handkerchief to us from on board the Messageries

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 323

boat. He turned out eagerly and came on deck, and

heard it was the 1st of April.

We hunted up new clothes to wear, and bragged

of them, but things we had not yet worn had become

rare with us. We tried turning the faded side in,

but this was pronounced to be shabby and a subter-

fuge. We put on our Siamese hats.

The Duke had a showy blue tie, quite ducal and

neatly hemmed, bought at Colombo ; but then he

was a duke, and it is fitting that a duke should be

grand. We had a fine turkey for dinner ; we had

watched his fattening with interest, and we sang

Easter hymns in the saloon in the evening, with

Mr. Butters, Herries, the second cook, Charlie, and

one or two others to swell the chorus. Weather

permitting, the Duke always likes to have hymns on

a Sunday evening ; the hymns for Hospitals and for

Those at Sea from ' Hymns Ancient and Modern

'

always conclude the singing, winding up with his

own favourite, that dreary, funeral hymn. No. 289,

' Days and moments quickly flying.'

The Southern Cross is bright to-night, the moon

rising late. I now see that the Southern Cross is

really a finer constellation than the two other

pseudo crosses on the right and left of it, which

bring to mind so vividly the three crosses of Calvary.

The sky is full of lightning, the sea of phosphor-

escence, among which the porpoises are illuminated

as if in lambent flame.

On the 3rd of April a beautiful white gull from

Socotra, Africa, or Arabia, tells us we are approach-

ing land. This is fortunate, as our eggs are getting

y 2

324 THE RETURN VOYAGE.

stale ; we have eaten the last of the fish, and whenthe ice fails good-bye to the rest of our provisions.

We passed Socotra in the night,

' Socotra, which doth bitter aloes boast,'

but we still made out the lofty island in the mists

to the starboard as we came on deck. The ' Brothers'

islands were near us.

'That isle might well be one of the Greek

islands,' says the Duke, spying at the lofty, dim

and distant isle.

We are to see Cape Guardafui this afternoon.

How near home we seem now that we can almost

lay hold of Africa ! We made a good run of twohundred and thirty-nine knots in the twenty-four

hours. Thermometer eighty-six in the deck-house

at breakfast and ninety-two at dinner.

On the 6th of April we were called early to see

the rocks near Aden. They are very wild and grand;

others thought the same, for the accordion-player

tuned up with ' They're all very fine and large,' andplayed soothingly until called on to help drop the

anchor.

General Hogg, the governor, came off and invited

us to stay at Government House while the yacht

was coaling. We accepted gratefully ; we felt such

a longing to set foot on terra-cotta, as we correctly

called this baked and parched Aden. We were

thirsty for news.

There had been no fight between the Italians and

Abyssinians, and peace was being talked of. Thoughthe promised shops were in some measure a

delusion, few places have progressed in the course

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 825

of the Queen's jubilee so much as Aden ; at any rate,

as regards population. The number of inhabitants

was six hundred in 1837; ten thousand in 1859;

in 1888, with Socotra, forty thousand. Socotra has

a population of four thousand. Nothing is manu-factured in Aden except salt and water ; condensing

the sea-water and dividing the salt from it.

Mr. Cobham and I took an open carriage anddrove to the ancient tanks, called after the Queen of

Sheba, up the long road, or volcanic mud-lane bythe sea ; then up to the fort where the road hewnthrough the rocks is crowned by an archway, and

tunnelled underneath the fortified rugged mountain;

then down to the Arab town of Aden, invisible

from the harbour side of the settlement : a

thoroughly oriental populous town built in the

crater of the extinct volcano. Near this an avenue of

starveling tropical shrub leads to the Jubilee arch,

erected over the entrance to the enclosure of the

tanks, set in wildest scenery of lofty precipitous

crags and mountain peaks, down whose fissures

flows every trickle of rain-water when it falls, which

is seldom : gathering it in rills to the tanks which

are thus filled in three hours when it does rain.

There are two tanks connected by a sort of bridge,

and there are paved terraces with railings round

about the tanks at difi"erent levels ; thence pathways

led up among the stern grey precipices themselves,

rising seventeen hundred and seventy-five feet

high, and away into the roads beyond. Thetanks are enclosed in the plantation, which is

as much of a garden as the arid and scorching

326 TEE RETURN VOYAGE.

situation will allow. These tanks are said to be

capable of containing between eight and twelve

millions of gallons of Avater. The water was low

at the time of our visit, as rain had not fallen for

many months.

The Governor in speaking jokingly of his poor little

plantation, for which earth had to be brought from So-

cotra, as there is hardly a spoonful of earth naturally

in Aden, said it had already made some difference in

the climate, for whereas rain used only to fall once

in two years now it falls as often as twice in three

years : the percentage of difference, when one thinks

of it, is considerable. Once in every two or three years

five inches of rain will fall in one day, and then the

tanks are filled. As the other water of the place,

with the exception of two good wells, is mostly brack-

ish, condensers are constantly at work producing

the main supply. All the water is carried up to

Government House in skins by bheesties. This is

why it is so warm in the baths. These tanks, with

the surrounding shrubbery and shaded seats, makea pleasant resort for the Adenites in their evening

walks ; but we could not stay long to enjoy it, as it

was getting dark, and we had three quarters-of-an-

hour's drive back.

The mountains looked very weird in the dusk,

their gloom contrasting with the many-lanterned

and busy Arab town of Aden, with dark figures in

all hues of oriental costume flitting about among the

flaring links and lanterns of the street stalls, the

fiery sunset glow still touching the surrounding

grey fantastic crests mth flame. The town lies so

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 327

completely in a basin, that all round it rise these

rigid sentinels of the natural rocky fortification. This

ancient city was formerly, in the eleventh, twelfth,

and thirteenth centuries, a great centre of trade be-

tween the east and west. Green sandstone is the

principal building material. It was pitch-dark

before we got back to Government House, which is

situated on a hill on the opposite side of the rocky

peninsula. We were guided in our drive by the oil

lamps placed at regular intervals along the shore

road. The bungalow looked very cheery and com-

fortable, as we arrived from the outer darkness, with

its yellow pillared vestibule and abundant colour of

rugs and pictures ; an agreeable mingling in the fur-

niture of the colouring of the east, and the comfort

of the west. I was given a nice large room with

bath-room, dressing-room, and shaded verandah to

lounge in.

We were a pleasant little party of ten at dinner

;

but in the midst of dinner a telegram was brought

to the General that young Mr. Ingram, who had

lately started from here with a shooting-party in

highest health and spirits, had been killed by a

furious rogue-elephant on the Somali coast. This

sad news cast a gloom over the evening.

We amused ourselves, before the ten o'clock break-

fast, with looking through General Hogg's mas-

terly and interesting sketches of Aden, Socotra, and

elsewhere, and chatting with a general officer and

his daughter just arrived from India in a mail

steamer, during whose stoppage of a few hours they

came up to see their old friend the Governor of

328 THE RETURN VOYAGE.

Aden. Such visits as these are constant, and cer-

tainly do alleviate what would otherwise be a ter-

rible banishment in a scorching climate.

The General kindly caused ostrich feathers, boas,

baskets, curtains, Persian carpets, &c., to be brought

up to Government House for us to see, and wemade several purchases in this delightfully easy

manner. The patterns of Persian carpets are made

irregular as a defence against the evil eye ; as

Chinese city gates are built in a curve or zigzag in

order that the evil spirits may not enter. These

spirits can only move in a straight line. This maybe the origin of the promiscuous character of

Japanese ornamentation. There is a good deal of

trade between Aden] and the Persian Gulf.

I walked down the cliff paths to the beach,

formed in great measure of broken coral, to collect

shells, when the sun went down sufficiently to

make investigation tolerable. As I took the shells

out of my pocket on my return some of them

walked away, rather startling me : they had a sort

of hermit crabs inside. A great variety of shells

come abundantly into Aden from May to September

mth the south-west monsoon.

A dinner-party of twenty-five was given this day

in honour of the Duke; the dining-room cooled bypunkahs and large, coloured palm-leaf fans. There

was a dance afterwards, with a good many ladies,

most of them pre tty young married women. The armyoflScers wear white linen round jackets, with broad

red or blue silk waistbands, and white trousers.

This looks very nice in a ball-room, and sets-off

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 329

the ladies' dresses, which are very often of black

lace, to advantage, more so than do the scarlet

uniforms.

The band played loudly but well for the dancing;

the ball closing just before midnight, as it was

Saturday, with ' God save the Queen.'

It is a drive of eight miles to the camp. The

struggle for carriages v^ent on for some time after

we had retired to our rooms. Everything was audi-

ble through the cane-trellised verandahs, faced with

matting. There are plenty of parties, sports, races,

&c., given in Aden, as alleviations of life; allevia-

tions only too necessary in a station where the meantemperature of the hot weather is 96°, and the meanof the cold weather 82°.

The promontory of Aden is connected with the

mainland of Arabia by a low, sandy isthmus, beyond

which one sees the arid chain of hills of Yemen.In 1858, this isthmus was between two and three

hundred yards wide ; but, in 1808, it was covered

at each spring-tide, this being one of the instances

of recession of water from the Arabian coast. Adenhas experienced many vicissitudes, fluctuating with

the rise and fall of adjacent countries. It may be

considered an eastern Gibraltar, and is yearly rising

in importance and usefulness. The remains of its

ancient defences proclaim of what importance this

place has been.

It is naturally a very strong place, and rifles andheavy guns on its numerous ridges and cones wouldkeep an enemy, at bay, who would find no shelter,

nor means for counter-works. The camp at Aden

830 THE RETURN VOYAGE.

is situated on some table-land above the sea-level,

and surrounded by the irregular mountains, near

the gate which commands the passage to the main-

land. Few of the officers are kept here longer than

a year.

The Arabian export trade in coffee is mostly from

Aden, Mocha having dwindled into a mere name.

Numerous articles of the materia medica are ex-

ported from here. Fever prevails at the changes

of the seasons, principally quotidian intermittent.

Small-pox and scurvy are the chief diseases of Aden,

though no scurvy appears in the jail, unless whenit takes the intensified form of the allied disease

called beriberi. For an Asiatic station, it is con-

sidered uniformly healthy for Europeans. Phthisis

is very rare, but patients who have come here for the

change have mostly died. No vegetables are grownin Aden, and its flora is limited and meagre;

it is principally dependant on the mainland of

Arabia and on Bombay for its supplies. Amongstthe quadrupeds at Aden are those of burthen, of

food, scavengers, and the usual companions of

civilization. The horse, the ox, sheep and goats,

camels and dromedaries. The sheep have large

tails and drooping ears. Foxes and hyenas roamthe hiUs ; the foxes are of silvery colour. Dogs,

cats, and rats are very numerous, and, I have

heard, do not molest one another ! Various kinds

of kites are seen on the look-out for offal, and gulls

of small size skim the water;poultry is plentiful

in the market. Of edible fish there is a great

variety, plentiful, and fairly good. There are crabs,

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 331

rock-oysters, and crawfish. The reptiles here are

lizards and some snakes. The wood here used as

fuel is the potash plant or ' lana.'

From Arabia is procured ' gowaree,' a cereal

largely consumed by the natives, and on which

horses are fed. It is as highly stimulating as w^heat.

The native population is said to be the refuse of

India and Africa. The Somali men are generally

very tall. The Jews at Aden appear the most

degenerate of the brotherhood ; they are the street-

hawkers of ostrich feathers.

We greatly enjoyed our three days' refreshment

at Aden. We left on Sunday at noon, the Governor

coming oiF to the yacht with us, and saying ' Good-

bye ' as we raised our anchor. A pleasant, genial

man, and a capital host. His cheerfulness in the

monotony of a station of this sort, where his vice-

regal position only renders him the more lonely, is

a proof of the value of such a resource as sketching;

it fills his solitude with such interest, and his ex-

cursions to the mainland have a double charm. Asthe Governor sits at his desk doing his official writ-

ing, he is fanned the while by a tall black servant

in white, flowing drapery, with a very large painted

palm-leaf fan. This tall Somali, seen against the

large white columns of the room, is a perfect picture.

We enjoyed a finely-clouded sunset over the chain

of the Arabian hills of the Mocha coast, in all tones of

grey and purple on the craggy mountains, these look-

ing like waves petrified in the act of breaking, but

very lofty as they rose one behind the other in whatseemed an infinity of mountain desert. Arab dhows

332 TEE RETURN VOYAGE.

sailing by us, with tteir broad lateen-sails touched

blood-red with the sun.

The islands of Zukur and Zubayir, with a chain

of islets between them, were our next scenery, as

night made us miss the Straits of Babelmandeb,

with fortified Perim. The whole of the sea round

the yacht was enlivened by an immense shoal of

sharp-nosed dolphins of all sizes, leaping and bound-

ing, mostly in pairs, leaping out of a wave together,

in the blue freshening sea. They all fled before a

cast of Mr. Butters' harpoon. The dolphins cameagain next day, in the roughish sea, but not in quite

such large numbers. Again they fled before the

harpoons.

The tamest of sunsets for our last night in the

tropics ; sky warm grey, sea cool grey ; only this,

only this. A popular fallacy indeed is that legend

of the gorgeous sunsets of the East. Colour abides

in the northern skies. The Southern Cross still

well above the horizon in a misty calm. Longer

twilight now, I could read till nearly seven o'clock.

On the following evening we passed close to St.

John's Island, on the Tropic of Cancer, and another

islet, a steep and a flat holm, and behind them the

mountains of Berenice in Africa. I could only see

three stars of the Southern Cross to-night : it was

like quitting a friend. The wind rose suddenly as

we entered the Gulf of Suez, and we could see

neither coast. It often rushes violently down the

ravines of the Gulfof Akabah. Old Indians return-

ing home call this breeze the morning and evening

doctor. The sea grew rough and a sand-storm filled

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 333

in both horizons ; we only heard the hissing of the

waves as the cold wind rose, and we put on speed to

get into port the sooner. Lo, the storm as suddenly

cleared and the waves at once began to fall, andthey laid the dinner-table without the fiddles. Even-

ing cast a rich plum-coloured bloom over the Egyptian

mountains bathed in a solemn splendour of tawny

sunset all subdued and very harmonious. We hadseveral of these sudden squalls and changes in going

up the Gulf of Suez, but at no time could we get a

glimpse of the Arabian coast and Mount Horeb. Thethermometer stood at 72° at the warm end of the

deck-house, and we put on warmer dresses, putting

away what Herries called our ' valuable dresses all

of mosquito curtain.'

Oh, the packing for Cairo and the packing-cases 1

'I've been thinking that them's some of his

Grace's coats,' sighs pensive Chippy, wondering

which packing-cases he had to screw down for

England, and what we wanted to eat, drink, and

wear.

A red buoy not marked in the chart puzzles

our navigators. It turns out to be adrift ; wemust report it at Suez.

We stayed over Sunday at Suez, anchored oppo-

site a square building that we called Staflford House.

The sea a glorious colour, azure, violet, and peacock-

green. Since we were here they have called one of

their donkeys Duke of Suthei'land, and one after

Lord Stafford.

' Is that a compliment ?' we asked.

' They meant it kindly,' said Herries, seriously.

334 THE RETURN VOYAGE.

Rupee meets florin at Suez : the same sized coin,

but what a difference in the nominal value !

We went to Cairo by train, the yacht being sent

through the canal to meet us at Alexandria. Siam's

streets shine compared with those of Suez ; and

the Siamese people are much more cleanly. The

Suez people look as if they had never been taught to

wash, not even in sand.

Dazzling desert bounded by the blue belt of

canal, the Bitter Lakes intensely sapphire in their

setting of burning sand, with here and there

a few dark palm-trees, and by them shadoofs at

work ; the mirage making April fools of us on the

other side. Malay houses are far superior to these

sand-hovels ; but how far better than the Wat Sakh^t

and cremation-grounds is the tiny neat cemetery

where the rude forefathers of the mud hamlet sleep.

Ismailia junction and patches of j^ellow barley

increasing in size and number. Is it cemetery or

ruins that we see at Tel-el-Kebir ? It is the ruins

of houses, with the square window openings left.

There is a neat large cemetery outside.

Wherever the desert is eaten away into a de-

pression there is moisture at once and palms

spring up. The desert is always higher in level

than the cultivated plain. There is water hereabout,

and black earth with rich, varied cultivation and

cattle and buffaloes. White ibises are seen in flocks;

palms and sycamore, terebinth and caroub-trees,

and ripening harvests ; flax cut and laid in rows to

soak ; emerald verdure of ' persim ' in fields and

vegetables grass-packed in crates at the stations

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 335

cogged water-wheels with strings of jars ; white-

domed welys and mud-hovels, some square, some

beehive-shaped.

Zagazig has much increased since 1 was here

before. It is quite a large town with pretty minarets.

Red fezzes are universally worn, and costumes varied

in fashion and fulness, but all the upper garments are

cut V-shaped in front, whether white or blue shirt or

black abba.

For all the round mud-hovels and the rubbish-

heaped roofs to the square ones, Egypt looks more

prosperous and happy, less ground down than in

the days of Ismail. The Zagazig cemetery is in a

desert patch. Here the patches only are desert,

oases or islets of desert. The Pyramids ! Thoughforty centuries look down upon us, bunches of

roses, ever fresh, pink and young, are given to us. Asthe Indian song says :

' Tazeh b'tazeh. No beh no.'

('Fresh and fresh, new and new').

Here are lateen sails on the Nile, and here is Mr.

Wright, the Duke's secretary, with the courier to

welcome us. We drive to Shepherd's Hotel. It

feels like being at home again. The Duke is hailed

by a friendly voice (slapped on the back really).

' How are you, dear old fellow?'

' You here, Charlie ! Dine with us.'

' I will.'

Yes, indeed, we are next door to home. This is

the Earl of D . He is jolly, and entertains us

with European talk and cheery stories at dinner in

the Duke's private sitting-room, filled with bowls

of Marshal Niel roses. It is quite the season of

336 THE RETURN VOYAGE.

roses here ; we shall follow the roses all the wayhome.

Lord D told us with great spirit of how Val

Baker Pasha went off with him once on a long chase

;

General Baker's object being to ' catch Sam ' (Sir

Samuel) on his way to the south ; and how they

gave chase and at length succeeded in 'catching

Sam.'

There was plenty of the latest English news to

tell, and it made it all the pleasanter hearing it

well told.

337

CHAPTER XIV.

EGYPT.

Fool ! why journeyest thou wearisomely, in thy antiquarian fervour,

to gaze on the stone pyramids of Geeza, or the clay ones of Sacohara ?

These stand there, as I can tell thee, idle and inert, looking oyer the

desert, foolishly enough, for the last three thousand years: but canst

thou not open thy Hebrew Bible, then, or even Luther's version thereof ?

Sartor Resartus.

Cairo to-day is like an oriental Paris in miniature

in this new Frenchified quarter. The long Boule-

vard Mehemet Ali now leads to the old, familiar

citadel, where the fresh-faced English sentries and

civil non-commissioned officers are a symbol of the

best security for the continued tranquillity of Egypt.

We gazed on the view of the pyramids from the

saluting battery, and the closely-packed, crowded

city roofs, and the domes of the city of the dead

caliphs in the desert. It is a tradition that the

pyramids were built in an apprehension of. the

destruction of the city of Memphis by inundation,

that some day a great wave of overflow must come

from the Nile. How closely past and present are

linked in the view from the battery ; the distant

pyramids, invested with all the poetry of mystery

and all the teeming associations of Napoleon's forty

centuries, and a cannon, and the telegraph in the

foreground.

338 EGYPT.

It is pleasant to see the English soldiers up here

in the citadel, and little English boys playing

cricket after a fashion. This makes English domin-

ation in Egypt appear more an established fact than

if there were many more regiments at a distance.

The soldiers look healthy and in good spirits. The

cheerful sight of these English soldiers on the

citadel is the explanation, the true cause of the

increased prosperity, happiness, and freedom of the

fellahin. It is no imaginary improvement.

The Egyptian army is furnished with the S]pin|ider

rifle. The origin of this was thus : Ismail sent

for Schneider to come to Cairo—meaning MadameSchneider the singer,—and sent her a ring. The

telegraph people sent the telegram to Schneider the

gun-maker, who came, expecting an order, but mysti-

fied about the ring. Ismail sent a message that if she

would have a bath and refresh itself—this is a little

mixed, but all the more natural to a German—that

he would come and see her. The Khedive on be-

holding him—the bathed and refreshed gunmaker

—was somcAvhat taken aback ; but he felt obliged

to give him an order for having had him over to

Cairo.

The tall-walled mosque of Touloun and others are

more crumbling than they were of old, but glad-

dening to the memory still. Nothing is ever re-

paired in Egypt, any more than in Siam. Thelabyrinth of bazaars are unchanged, the pyramids

are changeless, so I need say no more about them

;

but the ostrich-farm was new to me, and it may be so

to some of my readers. It is on the road to Heliopolis,

EGYPT. 889

which road, beyond the barracks and the tamarisk-

groves, planted to screen Cairo from desert invasion,

is itself lined with villas and otherwise changed out

of knowledge. We approach a narrow gate beyond

a slight, frail bridge : it seemed as if our carriage

must break it down, and precipitate us into the

ditch filled -with bricks made of the Nile mudbelow. Here is the entr(^e to the farm, admission

two shillings each person. This is entirely an

Egyptian concern, managed and worked by natives.

There are ostriches six months old in the first pen,

these are still chickens. Those in the second pen,

at seven months old, look full-grown, but they ai'e not

plucked; these are for the most part black ostriches

with white points. Then comes a pen of four-year-old

birds. These plucked birds have a very comical

appearance, but they look healthy and no less com-

fortable than shorn sheep. A very few short feathers

are left on. The birds are fed on biscuit something

like ship's biscuit, the empty tins of which are piled

hard by. Our pockets were filled with this hard

biscuit, with which we fed a pen of three months'

old chickens, and then we mounted to the gazabo, a

sort of master's eye, commanding a view of the

whole farm—a useful notion for most farms—and

the view round Matarieh and Heliopolis. On the

desert side two camels with their drivers were walk-

ing away to Suez, a dreary march. The river, or

palm-tree side of the view is more cheerful, with its

domes, minarets, and village roofs half hidden away

among the palm-trees, and here and there the bend

of a lateen sail by which one traces the line of the

z2

340 EGYPT.

Nile. The obelisk of Heliopolis is concealed by

clumps of trees. The Egyptian palm-trees look

coarse and clumsy after the cocos and the slender

graceful arecas. The date palm stems here look like

stone rather than fresh vegetable stalks, they are so

dusty.

Then we were shown the incubating house, kept

warm, but there is no thermometer to measure the

temperature. The eggs take forty-five days to

hatch, in drawers above a hot-water tank. ' Water

ver' hot, nearly boil water,' but they could not tell

the precise temperature. The eggs felt warm to

the hand. In a dark door there is a hole cut for

testing the eggs, which should look translucent and

of a clear apricot colour; the bad eggs are clouded

or opaque. Two hundred chickens are hatched

here every year. The bad eggs are blown and

sold at four shillings each. They keep the pens

all dry and sandy. Ostriches live in the desert, so

they make it like the desert, which is easy enough

here.

The stock of three hundred birds consumes

twenty boxes of biscuit a day at one shilling a box,

less than one penny a day for each bird. Eachostrich thus costs about thirty shillings a year to

feed. I did not hear of their being fed on iron

nails, buttons, and general rubbish to invigorate

their digestions.

The produce of each bird is one oke or two

pounds and three-quarters, valued at twenty-five

pounds sterling each bird. The profits seem large,

but we do not know what risks there are ; we could

EGYPT. 341

hear of none, and the market seems pretty steady.

Few people seem to be employed, and wages are not

high ; nor can rent be high at that distance out of

Cairo, for it is only desert or nearly worthless land;

the plant is not expensive, nor the farm-buildings

costly.

They have an office on the farm where feathers are

sold, very shabby ones at ' two bob ' apiece. Wethought of the beauties we bought at Aden and

Massowah, and scorned these specimens, and despised

a few dyed, dressed, and expensive plumes on the

counter. I suppose the good crop is all sold to the

regular merchants, and it is chiefly a wholesale

business. The Virgin Mary's Tree and the obelisk

of Heliopolis were familiar to all of us.

The Boulak Museum has been greatly enlarged of

late years ; it contains an extremely fine collection

of Egyptian antiquities. Most enjoyable is it to sit

awhile in its garden, among the silent statues by the

Nile with its lateen sails and palm-fringed banks.

Here we regretfully said good-bye to Mr. Cobham,

who now left us for his government at Cyprus. Hehad been a pleasant companion, and, besides being

an accomplished agreeable man, he was always a

walking guide-book among the works of art and the

architectural objects of interest in the towns.

We had several cloudy and even showery days

during the week we stayed in Cairo, and, though

late in April, 'it was chilly. We went out bazaaring

a good deal, and enjoying the fun of donkey-back.

The Duke is cut out of the shopping, for, as Lord

D says, ' If " Staf " came, it would spoil all the

3i2 EGYPT.

bargains.' An earl would seem next door to a duke

to be overcharged, but Lord D says tbey tried

on with him at first and now they find it is no use.

Besides, he speaks Arabic too well, that is, their sort

of Arabic. However, the Duke beat us all in the end,

for Parvis, at the great curiosity-and-cabinet-work

shop, (that is tucked away behind the butcher's

bazaar and the fruit-market) gave his Grace a fine

baksheesh. He admired a vase. ' It is yours,' said

Parvis, and had it put in a packing-case immediately

along with the things the Duke had bought.

We came home to put down our things, and then

the whole stafi" went ofi^ in a procession of three car-

riages to see the twirling dervishes, a curious per-

formance. A dozen-and-a-half or so of men in

white full skirts, white cloth jackets and tall white

felt tarbooshes, twirled with arms extended, the

right palm turned up, the left hand turned down.

One of them had a most comically sanctified ex-

pression as he leaned his head on one side and

turned up his eyes, the others were more business-

like. A few twirled in the centre and the rest

twirled round them, two priests in black keeping the

outer circle filled evenly at regular intervals. Then

the dervishes crossed their arms over their breasts

and bowed, an aged priest in a brown dress and

blueish turban intoning some verses ofthe Koran and

keeping time : they walked past him and then began

to twirl as before ; this was repeated several times.

The ladies of the harem looked on from a latticed

gallery above, and music of tom-toms and fifes went

on in another gallery.

.EUYPT. 3i3

One can only conjecture meanings for this curious

ceremony, and wonder if David's dancing before the

ark was anything like this. To think that this has

been going on every Friday for centuries in Moslem

lands is a great mysterj'.

After staying here a short while, we left this

round mosque, through the walled and vine-trellised

passages by which we had entered, and drove on a

long way in the outskirts of the city to see the

howling dervishes, a still more extraordinary per-

formance. Seats were set for us round a floor of

matting on which was laid a circle of sheep-skins,

brown and white. At first there were but few

dervishes, uttering prayers and cries, calling on

the name of Allah, and making swaying move-

ments, but their number increased gradually to

about two dozen, surrounding a priest in a long

white cloth garment, a very good-looking man, whochiefly stood in front of what might be called the

' mirhab,' or holy place. Many of the dervishes had

green turbans; most of them, but by no means all,

looked as if they lived on charity. There were

many movements of the performance, each one as

it proceeded being worked up to a rapid and excited

pitch. Loud breathings, uttered first to the right

hand then to the left, getting louder and more

stertorous as the men were urged on by the priest

in the centre, or by an elder who sometimes took

his place. Another priest in white chanted verses

from the Koran in a wild shrill cadence of roulades

and jackal-like utterances, to which the circle of

dervishes either groaned, or roared, or harshly

34-1 EGYPT.

whispered a burden of accompaniment interspersed

with shouts, yells or shrieks, many of these coming

from some quite small boys who also worked busily

in the dervish circle. Then the men divested them-

selves of their upper garments, which were received

by an elder who laid them aside ; they let down their

shaggy hair from under their turbans—some of the

dervishes wore it quite long like women. Most ofthem

took oiF their turbans or tarbooshes and gave them to

the elder, retaining the white skull-cap, others having

only their shaggy hair, which they tossed wildly

backwards and then forwards over their faces in the

energetic succession of deep bowings, groaning

meanwhile, or making unearthly sounds in all

manner of wild play with the lungs. One beggar-

dervish, looking like a maniac, was frightfully active

;

a young man in sulphur-coloured silk garment looked

as if he must become insensible with his exertions

;

some of them took no such trouble, but one wild

creature in a striped gown when on the point of

having a fit, was supported in his place by those on

either side of him.

I never saw any act of worship or form of devo-

tional ceremonial half so extraordinary as this.

Tambours, cymbals, and tom-toms were played to

encourage the men to yet wilder frenzy ; then, at

the moment when it seemed they must drop or die,

the whole movement would suddenly cease. Onevery curious movement was swaying sideways to a

succession of tones sung or howled in a chromatic

scale, closing, when they could shriek no higher,

with a wild scream. At the close of all, the chief

EGYPT. 345

priest put on a black gaberdine instead of or overhis white one, and he gave them the kiss of peace

or else shook their hands, which they kissed andraised to their foreheads ; then they, and we all, de-

parted, baksheesh being given at the doors by the

various couriers and dragomans of the spectators.

Extremes meet : perhaps the nearest thing I haveseen to the performance of the howling dervishes is

Signor D 's pianoforte playing. Swing, swing,

u]j and down, thump, thump perpetually ; like chop-

ping suet. When human nature could hold out no

longer, the audience clapped and—encored him.

We climbed to our carriages up the broken road

deep in the dust of demolitions, for they are con-

structing a new quarter here, and hills of cut chaiF

quarried for the food of horses and donkeys. Wedrove to the hotel to lunch, rest, and wash before

going to the races, which are very like races else-

where. It is a capital race-course at Gezireh. LordD was very busy on the ground as starter, &c.,

and a lot of celebrities came to chat with us, includ-

ing Mr. Cope Whitehouse, the inventor of the

Libyan lake scheme for irrigating the entire area of

cultivatable land in the Nile valley and the Delta.

He has discovered a deep depression in the desert,

which, he said, would make a lake with a surface

considerably larger than the Lake of Geneva, and

two hundred and fifty feet deep. This he proposes

to fill from the enormous excess of the Nile which,

even in the worst seasons, escapes into the sea, and

which, if stored, would fertilize a quantity of land

only partially and occasionally cultivated, or wholly

346 EGYPT.

neglected, amounting to over three millionacres.

He explained to us his scheme for forming a lake

and canal, or river with sluice-gates, in the Libyan

desert, to fill the lake when there is a very high

Nile, and to supply Egypt with water for irrigation

when there is a very low one. There will be reserve

force no end for electrical purposes, and every

possible benefit to the country. The enthusiastic

projector carries one away with his beliefs, if not

by his arguments, almost as much as Jules Verne

does. Many gentlemen we spoke to think Mr. White-

house's scheme quite feasible, but they prefer to

think of drainage before any new irrigation proposal.

The following may give an idea ofEgyptian morals.

An Egyptian gentleman of high position was turned

out of the English club in Cairo for cheating at cards;

he had a card up his sleeve. The Egyptians only said,

' Poor fellow, perhaps he could not have won in

any other way.' Robbing the public by embezzling

shareholders' money is still more easily excused.

I went alone to the mosque of Mehemet Ali, and,

alas ! destroyed an illusion I seemed to rememberof translucent golden colour and warm light mostexquisite. The lofty dome, large carpets, and clear

glass lamps are still striking, but there is no high

art, and where is the luminous golden glow ? Lost

with my own youth and youth's wonderment, I

suppose. Moral: Beware how you return to look

upon a remembered loveliness. You will lose it

for ever. It is only things of the highest beauty

that will stand this test

!

We daily had Nubar Pasha or other notabilities

EGYPT. 347

about US or dining with us. The Khedive himself

called while his Grace was out. He offers his ownvice-regal saloon for the Duke and his party to

travel in. We are invited to lunch on board the

Peninsular and Oriental steamer Gwalior on our

arrival at Alexandria on Monday morning.

On Sunday I went to the pretty English church

here. The Duke tells me he laid the foundation-

stone of this church a good many years ago.

The shops near here, and many others, are shut,

and there is generally a nice Sundayfied feeling

about Cairo. The manager and the visitors' ser-

vants in the hotel sit under the trees and awnings,

and in the open vestibule in front of the hotel. Thelower shrubs in the garden are coated, almost caked,

with dust, but the bright green acacias and other

leaves, reared high above the dust's influence, are

fresh and beautiful. Most people are out driving.

The street carriages almost all have pairs of horses;

the khavasses still dress in Greek costume, with

white, flowing sleeves and full white flowing skirts.

I am glad Lord D is to accompany us to

Alexandria, he is so full of fun.

Luigi, the manager, was just now scofling at Lord

D 's portmanteau. ' What a shabby box, just

like a German governess's !' He turned, and there

was Lord D laughing over his shoulder. Luigi

was the most discomfited of the twain.

Nubar Pasha was at the station to see the Duke off,

and Monsieur Salandino, the banker, gave us ladies

large and lovely bouquets of roses.

Our grandeur makes the villages of brown huts

348 EGYPT.

with palm-trees like brooms sticking up in them

seem all the poorer ; but there are orchards and

ripe corn, and these people have always the wealth

of a golden land and sapphire sky. Alas ! for our

own poor cockneys !

Of course we, in our select isolation, have no

chance of doing more than look upon the Alexan-

drian belles and the dark-eyed women, with their

black veils and blue outer dresses, who flutter about

the stations, and hear what life in general has to

show in the other portions of the train. We, on

our 'pedestal where we grow marble,' can only hear

and see the outside laughter and the fun of travel

—without participation. The Duke himself some-

times gets a bit of amusement out of travelling.

Once, as he was standing on the door-step of his

own saloon-carriage at the station, a bagman saun-

tered up, and entered into chat.

' Nice carriage this. Whose is it ?'

' Mine,' said his Grace, naturally.

' Gammon !' said the questioner, laconically.

You see, the Duke had not got his stars and

garters on.

The fellahs preferred the old way of being taxed ac-

cording to their crops, rather thanourplan of an equal

annual taxation. Our way is best for the land and for

the revenue, but not so favourable to their laziness.

Egypt is still what it was in Joseph's time, a great

corn-field and onion-bed. It is enlivened by white

ibises, yoked buffaloes, camels in strings, cows, asses,

grey-backed crows and blue-gowned labourers. There

is a great fair at Tantah.

EGYPT. Sjg

' These Zouaves in light blue, with yellow trim-

mings and red fezzes, are General Baker's men,'

said Lord D ;' and here is Said Pasha's bridge,

that he had cut and then sent a carriage-load of

his obnoxious relations over it, and tumbled them

into the river.'

The Duke (who loves machinery of all sorts)

justifies the use of these steam water-wheels against

all our clamour of 'But where is the picturesque?

Where the immemorial past ?' These light, airy

things are being dusted out by utilitarian civiliza-

tion, as they dusted out this railway-carriage with

feather-brooms. But the bee-hive and manure-

roofed hovels still remain as unsavoury as ever,

neither swept out nor swept away.

Damanhoor is a big, populous place ; a fair is going

on here too. The pomegranate-trees are in blossom,

and plantains grow, though shabby and blown to

ribbons by the high wind. There are tall bul-

rushes, like those of Moses' cradle by the Nile, and

lotuses on the Mahmoudieh canal ; and here is Lake

Mareotis, with white sails gliding along its mirage-

like surface. We drive through the handsomely

re-built streets of Alexandria. The houses remind

one of Paris ; showing the recuperative power of a

commanding situation. See Alexandria to-day, thrice

regenerated and prosperous still, notwithstanding

the deviation of trade from the Nile to the Suez

Canal.

We were taken to lunch on board the Gwalior,

and the Peninsular and Oriental Company's agent

sent baskets of beautiful flowers for the yacht. The

360 EGYPT.

Gwalior set sail for Vemce. immediately after weleft.

We drove out to see Mr. Cornish's pump-works

for supplying Alexandria with fresh water from

the Nile by the Mahmoudieh canal, which joins the

Rosetta branch of the Nile at Atfeh, forty-five miles

distant. They bring the water from thirty feet

below the surface at the works, which are situated

oh the brick-baked sand-hills outside the city, where

Alexandria lies enveloped, one might say buried, in

her history. Twenty thousand tons of water are

raised in the twenty-four hours. These works

supply the city with high-service, after filtering

it. The water is filtered through washed sea-sand

in two filter-beds, a sort of cradles, set in banks

clothed with mesembrianthemum and aloes, and

shaded by palm-trees. They keep one filter-bed full

daring nine days, and then go to the other dry filter-

bed, which has been cleansed meanwhile. The sand

is washed and used again. There is a very markeddifference between the dirty and the cleansed heaps

of sand. The sand-washing machine is simple : a

zinc barrow, a cylinder of wire-netting, and an

Archimedean screw below. The clean sand is de-

livered up a shoot, backed with matting, into the

waggons again, on the same principle as elevators

for hay, &c. There is a large mud deposit from

the sand. Mr. Royle, author of 'The Egyptian

Campaigns, 1882 to 1885,' whom we met on several

occasions, and who dined with us on board the Sans

Peur, gave us several interesting facts concerning

Mr. Cornish and his water-works.

EGYPT. 351

The water supply of Alexandria, after the bom-

bardment, began to be a source of anxiety. It

came from the Mahmoudieh canal, adjoining the

position taken by Arabi at Kafr Dowar. Through-

out the bombardment, and subsequently, the town

had been abundantly supplied by the efforts of Mr.

Cornish. When, previous to the bombardment, all

his countrymen and the great mass of Europeans

sought safety afloat, he refused to desert his post.

He contrived an elaborate system of defence for

the water-works. It comprised an arrangement for

throwing jets of steam at any possible band of

assailants, as well as a line of dynamite bombs, cap-

able of being exploded by means of electricity.

The upper part of the engine-house was converted

into a kind of arsenal, into which he and his mencould retire as a last resort, and where rifles and

ammunition were in readiness.

During the bombardment, the works happily

escaped injury.

On the morning of the 11th of July, 1882, the

day of the bombardment, Mr. Cornish visited the

auxiliary pumping-station on the canal, more than

a mile distant, as usual. From the roof of the

engine-house, Mr. Cornish and his companions (nine

Europeans in all) watched the progress of the bom-

bardment, until the shot and shell, which whistled

overhead, from the vessels firing on Fort Pharos,

compelled them to descend. Meanwhile, the pumps

were kept working as in ordinary times.

On the afternoon of the 12th, when the mob of

rioters, who, with their petroleum, etc., did the

352 EGYPT.

whole of the damage that devastated the actual toAvn

of Alexandria, left off for the time their work of

destruction and quitted the town, the majority of

them passed a few yards from the works, and in-

dulged in curses and execrations at the ' Christian

dogs ' within.

"With humane forethought, two large jars of Avater

were placed in front of the gate and kept supplied

from within. Thousands of thirsty natives coming

from- the dust and smoke of the town stopped to

drink, and, after cursing Mr. Cornish, passed on.

To whatever cause it may be attributed, no attack

was made on the works, and their courageous

director survived to receive the congratulations of

the Khedive and of his own countrymen. Mr.

Cornish had the decoration of C.M.G. conferred on

him for his own conduct on this occasion. By-and-

by Arabi made a dam by which all further flow of

the Nile was stopped, and on the 2 1st of July Arabi

caused salt water to be let into the Mahmoudiehcanal by cutting the dam separating it from Lake

Mareotis, thereby considerably aggravating the diffi-

culty of the water supply. Mr. Cornish held his

own, notwithstanding, and condensed the water,

and they—I do not exactly know who, but some

authority who had the means—gave Mr. Cornish a

thousand pounds and a decoration for staying at his

post during the war and supplying the town and the

army with water.

The ruins of Alexandria were shown us in photo-

graphs, and we had seen enough of the ruins still

quaking and looking ghastly even in the Place des

EGYPT. 363

Consuls to be sure that the pictures were not exag-

gerated. There are Bedouin tents just outside the

fortifications on the hardened sand-hills which are

ovei'grown with a red sort of mesembrianthemummuch used in making soap.

Alexandria is not unhealthy for English people,

even their children are rosy and look thriving, and

it is a good place for learning languages ; children

naturally pick up Arabic, Greek, and Italian, besides

the French and German and other lessons that are

paid for. Leaving the city at the Rosetta gate, wedrove on by the side of the Mahmoudieh canal byway of the water-tunnel six feet below the road,

which carries the water to the pumps. The opposite

bank of the canal is lined with a nearly continuous

Arab village, and beyond Lake Mareotis extends the

boundless Sahara. The acacia (lebbek) trees here

do not come into leaf until June, in Cairo they are

green in April.

Bamboo grows here, but the stems are not large

in diameter.

They are justly proud of Monsieur Antoniades'

garden, notwithstanding the marble statues with

which it is disfigured, of which they are prouder

still. Here the bougainvillea is still in full bloom,

though it is fading in Cairo, and has been over for

many weeks in Suez. The Tunisian palm was a

novelty to us in the way of palms, proud as we were

of our knowledge of this subject. Roses, especially

cluster-roses twining up the trees, bloom in delightful

profusion in these gardens. A hundred and twenty

men are employed to work these hundred and thirty

AA

854 EGYPT.

acres. (At Trentham forty men work twenty acres.)

At about ten minutes' walk beyond the farthest

summer-house in the garden a Roman (or Greek)

temple and tomb have lately been discovered.

We turned off in our return drive to see Pom-

pey's Pillar. A Greek inscription upon it shows

it was erected by Publius, prefect of Egypt, in

296 A.D., in honour of Diocletian. Its height alto-

gether is one hundred feet, the diameter at the base

ten feet. It is of red polished granite, though no

one on seeing it would suspect it of polish any more

than Cleopatra's needles, whose loss is now bewailed

by the Alexandrians, who have few objects of in-

terest left to attract visitors. This new quarter of

Alexandria is built of stucco on stone. Here is a

large German hospital, a branch of Kaiserswerth.

We passed the large Jesuits' College, a new building

erected on the site of something destroyed in the

fire. One often sees brown-clothed Jesuits in the

town. There is one wood-paved street in Alexan-

dria, but mostly the streets are well-paved with

large stone slabs. The population of Alexandria is

two hundred and thirty thousand ; that of Cairo

four hundred and thirty-five thousand.

As we were going off to the Sans Penr, we heard

the Khedive's hymn played at sunset from anEgyptian man-of-war, and then ' God save the

Queen.' They began the ' Marseillaise,' and stopped

abruptly, for no perceptible reason.

Lord D , full of his good stories as usual, told

us a yarn of the Little Western, the open boat that

EGYPT. 855

sailed across the Atlantic, how she was sighted by a

British ship, a liner, which changed her own course

and hailed her with benevolent intentions.

' Wall, what can we do for you ?' calls out a cheeky

Yankee shoemaker, the skipper of the Little Western

;

'do you want stores or a doctor?'

The British captain in a rage gave the order to his

steersman never, never again to change their course

unless for a ship on fire or actually sinking.

' Lappy ' inspected the troops on shore, and swamback to the yacht again, with a sense of duty

fulfilled. He knows how to amuse himself.

A wonderful supply of flowers was sent us by

Mr. Chapman from his garden at Ramleh. Thesaloon of the Sans Peur was filled with roses, quite

realizing Alma Tadema's picture of Heliogabalus.

Had we known of this picture, we might have

arranged a tableau of the scene by letting downthe awnings filled with roses. Bertha, Aleck, and

Charlie were at their wits' end to make garlands

quickly enough, and, on looking at the dining-table,

Herries severely said he supposed they meant his

Grace's guests only to have roses and lilies, and

such-like salads for dinner.

'A feast of roses is all very well,' he growledj

' but the chef has planned a different bill-of-fare for

to-day.'

We wore as many roses as we could crowd on,

button-holes at every button.

The Duke had his dinner-party in the saloon.

We can use the saloon comfortably now in this cool

AA 2

356 EGYPT.

weatlier. Thermometer 68° in the saloon after dinner.

' Sir Constantine Who did Herries say ?'

whispered the Duke. 'What is the white-haired

gentleman's name?'' It sounds like " dear old ducky," but it is spelt

Zerouacchi,' said Lord D , who knew everything.

We had our first strawberries-and-cream (23rd of

April), and Aleck played the pipes, to the great

enjoyment of some of the party, and the astonish-

ment of others. Mr. Mc wished he could have

Aleck to dine with him on shore.

' What, as a commercial speculation ?' his Grace

asks, in his half-serious yet quietly-humorous voice

;

and he relates how his piper McAlister, in his kilts,

was once upon a time—at Berlin—taken for the

British ambassador.

Lord D also played us several reels and

pibrochs on the pipes.

We were invited to meet a party of Alexandrian

celebrities and heroes of the war at luncheon at

the club in the Place des Consuls. This club—on

the first-floor above the bourse—^has fine and very

comfortable rooms for dinners, meetings, baccarat,

whist, billiards, everything. The luncheon-table

was, as usual here, smothered in flowers. We could

hardly see the table-cloth for the fresh roses strewed

about. We had the Alexandrian native oysters.

The oyster-beds supplied from England have thriven

here. The oysters are good, but not quite so delicate

as English natives.

We drove out afterwards to Ramleh, a favourite

sea-side place, where many of the merchants and

EGYPT. 857

rich European inhabitants of Alexandria have their

country houses. We walked in divers private

gardens and on the beach gathering shells, andthinking of this place as delightful winter-quarters.

It is a pleasant drive out here, but there are

frequent trains to and from Ramleh.

As we rowed out again in the gig at sunset, the

Egyptian evening hymn was played and ' God save

the Queen,' and again the ' Marseillaise ' stopped

abruptly at the fourth bar as before. Wherefore ?

' Perhaps they don't know any more,' was the

Duke's very natural solution.

'Tell me about that Sicilian trip, and I'll write it

down,' said Lady Clare to Lord D ;' because I

find, when a man has left, one forgets all he has

ever said.'

'There's for you, Charlie,' says the Duke. Manya true word spoken in jest.

We had the charming prospect of Sicily before us

on our way to England.

Lord D bought two of the amusing monkeys

of one of the sailors. The rest of the men were

pathetic over their frolicsome, tally cousins, as they

salaamed their farewells.

' Good-bye, old fellows ; that's the last you'll do

for us,' said the sailors, mournfully.

The lively creatures had whUed away so manyhours at sea. The parting was quite touching. All

of us had some fruits, or nuts, or cakes to give

them before they were put into a basket-cage covered

with grass. Dear monkeys, they will get on better

in Cairo than in London, even if they weathered the

368 EGiPT.

Bay of Biscay. Only ' Lappy ' did not regret them :

they pulled his hair, and grinned at him, and he

never understood their fun.

Another consignment of flowers came before weweighed anchor, at noon of the 25th. We have been' bunched ' as much as petted visitors are in America.

The whole air breathed roses.

The fine, large harbour at Alexandria is boundedby a sandy, broken coast-line.

The steam was up, ready to whirl us off; the gig

was manned, to carry Lord D on shore. Ano-ther farewell to an agreeable fellow-traveller. Weconsoled ourselves by thinking and tactlessly saying,

' Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of

Cathay.'

'Well, if you will quote Watts' hymns, I had

better leave at once ;' and Lord D ran downthe steps into the gig.

Our handkerchiefs were out.—Farewell

!

APPENDIX.

NOTE A. (Page 66)—The Sea-Serpent.

I am fully aware of the ridicule gtire to be cast on any

assertion of having seen the sea-serpent, or rather a sea-

serpent; for, in the face of the abundant testimony of

eye-witnesses and tradition, we cannot ignore the prob-

abihty—amounting almost to certainty—of there being

various marine monsters, of whose appearance we are

informed from time to time by amazed spectators. It is

greatly against the interests of true science that we should

attempt to conceal such facts as come to our knowledge

for fear of ridicule.

No entry of most of these appearances is made in the

log of ships generally, or report made of them, for fear of

ridicule.

The editor of the Zoologist says : ' I have long since

expressed my firm conviction that there exists a large

marine animal unknown to us naturalists. I totally reject

the evidence of published representations; but I do not

allow these imaginary figures to interfere with a firm

conviction.'

Professor Owen is the main scientific opponent of sea-

sei-pent stories, but he admits the scientific possibihty of

360 APPENDIX.

every part of the best authenticated descriptions, except-

ing the vertical undulations, of which all descriptions

speak. This vertical sinuosity is structurally impossible

in any of the serpent tribe. And yet this is the very

point most dwelt on by those who have seen the creature.

One of the committee of the Linnsean Society (of Boston)

describes the movement he saw as ' not that of the commonsnake, either on land or water, but evidently the vertical

movement of the caterpillar.'

The kraken, or sea-serpent, is usually described as

dark brown or black, and remarkably active; and someestimate it as about as long as a large steamer, say twohundred feet.

The striking features of the leviathan I saw taking his

pastime in the calm blue waters off the coast of Travan-

core, Hindostan, on the late afternoon of the 22nd of

January, 1888, at about two hundred yards distance from

the yacht Sans Peur, were the flatness of its sides, its

silvery luminousness, its bridge-like curves in gentle but

decidedly vertical motion.

If I had any previous idea about the sea-serpent, it

was of something between a whale and a boa-constrictor :

round, dark, and ugly. The creature I saw was flat-sided,

luminous, and beautiful. This appearance, together with

the vertical movements, makes some of the authorities

at the Natural History Museum in London think it mayhave been an extraordinarily large sort of ribbon-fish

(acanthopterygii taeniformes), which, however, is seldom

known to exceed twenty feet ; while, to judge from the

apparent size of the two silvery-diapered curves of the

creature that I saw, its full length might well have been

the length of the yacht itself. From the httle I knowof the ribbon-fish, I do not think the serpentine form I

saw was of that family. I, the wife of a naval officer,

and accustomed to the sea in many climates for manyyears, am not likely to be easily deceived about an

APPENDIX. S61

appearance, though I admit that even skilled naval

officers may at times be so ; and the vertical undulations

always recorded might sometimes be accounted for in

the manner described in Vice-Admiral Gore Jones' letter

to the Times of the 20th of October, 1883 : ' The sea-

serpent, now supposed to be a long line of soot from

a steamer's dirty flues, of a very sticky nature . . . the

wave-motion of the tide giving it an undulating, life-like

appearance ... a strong tide and fair wind would give

considerable velocity . . . .' To this I oppose the remark-

able silvery luminousness and strongly-marked diaper-

pattern of my example.

NOTE B. (Page 209.)

Calotropis procera, of the asclepias family, is known to

some as one of the many varieties of plants bearing whatis called Dead-Sea fruit. It is named from KoiK6<; (beauti-

ful), and rp6'7n<; (a keel), in allusion to the ' corona.' It is a

shrub reaching fifteen feet in height, covered with white,

woolly down; leaves four to ten inches long, intensely

green when the light shines through them ; common in

Abyssinia, tropical Asia, &c., often growing on old walls,

&c. The stems exude a plentiful milky juice, which in

Siam is popularly supposed to be poisonous. I was warnednot to taste it or let it fall on my fingers. Its flower

varies in colour in different localities ; it is usually pink

or lilac. In Siam I found a white variety, or white tinged

with pink. It is a plant worthy of attention. In India

the bark is used as a medicinal plant; the dried milky

juice is considered valuable in cases of dysentery. It

is not in the British pharmacopoeia. The fibre can be

spun into the finest thread. Calotropis procera furnishes

the substance called mudar, which is used as a diaphoretic

in India. It contains a principle called mudarine, which

gelatinizes on being heated, and becomes fluid on cooling.

BB

S62 APPENDIX.

NOTE C. (Page 301.)

Darwin reminds us how ' The gardeners of the classical

period, who cultivated the best pear they could procure,

never thought what splendid fruit we should eat : though

we owe our excellent fruit, in some small, degree, to their

having naturally chosen and preserved the best varieties

they could anywhere find.' Perhaps, then, the wonder

is that the tropical fruit should be as good as it is, rather

than no better. When the dwellers in the tropics cultivate

for flavour and quality, we shall have fine fruits from our

trans-oceanic empire.

THE END.

London : Pi inted hy Duncan Macdonald, Blenlidm House.